Italian Oil company Eni SpA E, pumped first oil from the Sankofa field offshore Ghana. The field was completed three months ahead of schedule and within budget.

The Sankofa field is estimated to yield 45,000 barrel per day. This in turn is intended to boost the West African country’s plans to utilize oil resources to revitalize its economy.

The field represents the first phase of the $7.9-billion Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP) project, which is projected to deliver about 180 million cubic feet of natural gas per day by the end of 2018. This will increase domestic gas supply by over twofold.

The valves on the John Agyekum Kufuor, a floating production, storage and offloading vessel, were released by president Nana Akufo-Addo.

Per the president, the commissioning of Sankofa will guarantee reliable, affordable and clean energy to sustain economic activities and steer Ghana toward growth.

Oil is already produced from two major fields of Ghana including the country's flagship, Jubilee block, which was brought online in late 2010.

Ghana is recuperating from a power crisis caused by lack of funds to purchase oil which is primarily caused by scarcity of domestic gas to power thermal plants. The government anticipates that gas from OCTP will enhance generation by 1,000 megawatts, which is adequate to ensure steady supply.

The country has a $918 million aid program from the International Monetary Fund to restore fiscal balance to its economy which has a large budget deficit and big domestic and external debts.

ENI has a stake of 44.44% in OCTP, representing the largest foreign direct investment in Ghana's history. Other partners include trading company, Vitol holding 35.56%, while the state oil company Ghana National Petroleum Corporation has a combined carried and participating interest of 20%.

Shares of the company have lost 8.1% over the last three months compared with the Zacks categorized Oil & Gas – International Integrated industry’s decline of 5.1% in the same time span.

Eni currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the same space are Delek US Holdings, Inc. DK, Cheniere Energy Inc LNG and Canadian Natural Resources Limited Ltd. CNQ. All these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Delek US Holdings delivered a positive earnings surprise of 148.48% in the preceding quarter. The company beat estimates in each of the four trailing quarters with an average positive earnings surprise of 60.68%.

Cheniere Energy delivered a positive earnings surprise of 162.16% in the preceding quarter. The company beat estimates in one of the three trailing quarters with an average positive earnings surprise of 14.0%.

Canadian Natural Resources delivered a positive earnings surprise of 30.77% in the preceding quarter. It surpassed estimates in two of the four trailing quarters with an average negative earnings surprise of 275.46%.

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