Italy’s energy giant Eni has enriched its offshore oil and gas portfolio in Côte d’Ivoire with four new exploration blocks while closing in on the finish line to bring the second stage of its oil and gas development online, which is said to be the largest discovery in this country and the first net-zero upstream project, in terms of Scope 1 and 2 emissions, on the African continent.
After signing contracts to acquire four offshore exploration blocks with the Ministry of Mines, Oil, and Energy of Côte d’Ivoire, Eni highlighted that the signing served to further consolidate its presence in the African country. The agreements enable the firm to explore the area for up to nine years.
Covering a total area of about 5,720 square kilometers, the blocks CI-504, CI-526, CI-706, and CI-708 are situated in a water depth ranging between 1,000 and 3,500 meters. The Italian energy giant believes the block’s proximity to the Calao discovery, made in Block CI-205, represents a strategic opportunity to create further synergies in the area.
The company, which has an equity production of around 22,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, operates six blocks in the Ivorian deepwater: CI-101, CI-205, CI-401, CI-501, CI-801, and CI- 802, all with the same partner, Petroci Holding.
Furthermore, Eni underlines that it made the two largest discoveries to date in the country, Baleine and Calao , and is working on significantly increasing its production, as confirmed by its preparations to launch the Baleine Phase 2 in December 2024, just one year after the start-up of Baleine Phase 1 .
Once Baleine Phase 2 comes online, the total production from the Baleine field will increase to 60,000 barrels of oil per day and 70 million cubic feet of associated gas, equivalent to 2 million cubic meters of associated gas. This is expected to go up further to 150,000 barrels of oil per day and 200 million cubic feet of associated gas during Phase 3, which is currently under study.
Altera Infrastructure secured 15-year contracts in October 2023 to redeploy the FPSO Voyageur Spirit , recently rebranded to Petrojarl Kong , and the Nordic Brasilia shuttle tanker, converted into an FSO and renamed Yamoussoukro , for work at the Baleine Phase 2 project.
Following Eni’s recent Calao discovery ,, which has put the wind in Cote d’Ivoire’s oil outlook’s sails, total investments of over $15 billion are anticipated to enable the African country to step up its oil production game from 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) to around 200,000 bpd over the next three years.
The Italian giant is also active in other African countries, including Congo, where it is making progress to bring its next floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) unit online in the fourth quarter of 2025.