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(23/12/2002) Eni: Successful Drilling of an Exploration Well in the Egyptian Offshore

"The field of Tennin - said Mr. Vittorio Mincato, Chief Executive Officer of Eni - is an important discovery not only for the great potential of its reserves but also for its proximity to the Damietta liquefaction plant that Union Fenosa is currently building. This will enable us to exploit Eni's gas reserves in Egypt and strengthen our presence in the liquefied natural gas market"

Eni, through its subsidiary IEOC Exploration BV, successfully drilled the exploration well "Tennin 1" in the Mediterranean offshore of Egypt, in front of the Nile Delta, about 80 kilometres from the city of Damietta.

The well was drilled at water-depth of 300 meters, reaching a total depth of 2,040 meters encountering a gas sand interval of about 60 meters. During tests, gas flowed at a rate of 700,000 cubic meters per day. After a preliminary appraisal the Tennin reserves are comprised between 15 and 30 billion cubic meters of gas.

Eni will undertake the studies for the development and the start-up of the field that is located next to other recent discoveries and production plants of the Italian Company in Egypt.

The Tennin field is part of the East Delta Deep Marine exploration license jointly owned by Eni (operator) and BP (partner).

Eni has been present in Egypt since 1955 and it operates 530,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (Eni's equity is over 200,000) of which 50% oil.

"The success achieved with this exploration campaign in the Egyptian offshore - said Mr. Vittorio Mincato, Chief Executive Officer of Eni - strengthens our presence in Egypt where we have been operating for almost 50 years and where Eni accounts for almost 45% of the whole production of the Country. The field of Tennin is an important discovery not only for the great potential of its reserves but also for its proximity to the Damietta liquefaction plant that is being currently built by Union Fenosa, the company in which we recently bought a 50% stake. This will enable us to exploit Eni's gas reserves in Egypt and to strengthen our presence in the natural gas market."

Rome, December 23, 2002