Eni finds oil sands deposits in Congo
Ed Crooks in Pointe Noire, Congo , Financial Times , 19 May 2008Eni, the Italian oil group, has discovered a large oil sands deposit in the Republic of Congo that is expected to become Africa’s first large unconventional oil development and could hold several billion barrels.
Paolo Scaroni, Eni’s chief executive, said the project, due to begin production in 2011, opened “a new front” in the development of “unconventional” oil.
Unconventional resources, such as oil sands, which have in the past been considered too difficult or expensive to extract, are expected to provide an increasing proportion of the world’s fuel supply in future as conventional reserves run down. ... Read full article
Editor's comment: Although ENI have perhaps decided that the large deposits of oil sands located in Congo (Brazzaville) are viable as commerical developments these are unlikely to be new discoveries. There are numerous undeveloped oil sand outcrops known throughout the world which remain undeveloped due to the lack of a technological and financial solution. With much higher energy prices many of these are now being examined, albeit dogged by supply chain problems as costs escalate.