Australia-based Po Valley Energy Ltd. will evaluate a Mesozoic carbonate structure onshore northern Italy in the eastern Po Valley region southeast of Bologna. The 111-sq-km Torre del Moro exploration license was granted to the operator with a 6-year exploration period. According Po Valley, its main target is analogous to Eni SPA’s Villa Fortuna field, which has produced 230 million bbl of oil.
Preliminary seismic analysis indicates the presence of a large, faulted anticline with depth targets ranging between 3,500-4,000 m. The Sarsina-1 well, 15 km to the southwest in a down-dip location, showed oil in the core from the same reservoir.
Po Valley’s initial plan is to collect existing geological data and purchase existing 2D seismic data to evaluate the potential size of the field.
Po Valley holds other onshore and offshore assets in northern Italy, and the Torre del Moro license is its southernmost exploration license to date (OGJ Online, Nov. 28, 2016).
Contact Tayvis Dunnahoe at [email protected].
