Italy’s energy giant Eni has made a gas and condensate discovery offshore Côte d’Ivoire, said to be the second largest in the country after Baleine, discovered in 2021.
The discovery, named Calao South, was made within the major Calao channel complex, which also includes the Calao discovery, with the Murene South-1X well, the first exploration well in Block CI-501.
Said to represent the second largest in the country after Baleine , the discovery has estimated volumes of up to 5.0 Tcf of gas and 450 million barrels of condensate (approximately 1.4 billion barrels of oil).
Saipem’s drilling ship Santorini was used for the drilling to a total of around 5,000 meters in a 2,200-meter water depth, with the well undergoing an extensive data acquisition campaign.
Murene South-1X is located approximately 8 kilometers southwest of the Murene-1X discovery well in the adjacent CI-205 block.
“Murene South-1X confirmed the main hydrocarbon bearing interval with a gross thickness of around 50 meters, with excellent petrophysical properties. Murene South-1X will undergo a full conventional drill stem test (DST) to assess the production capacity of the Calao discovery,” Eni reported.
Eni operates Block CI-501 with a 90% stake, in partnership with Petroci Holding, who holds the remaining 10%.
Currently, the Baleine field produces over 62 thousand barrels of oil and more than 75 million cubic feet of gas per day from Phases 1 and 2. With the launch of Phase 3, production is expected to rise to 150 thousand barrels of oil and 200 million cubic feet of gas per day.
In addition to block CI-501, Eni in Côte d’Ivoire holds interests in CI-205, CI-504, CI-526, CI-706, CI-707 , CI-708, in partnership with Petroci Holding, and CI-401, CI-801, CI-802 and Baleine AEE (in partnership with Petroci Holding, Vitol and SOCAR, subject to Governmental approvals). The Italian major has been active in the country since 2015.