Côte d’Ivoire: Minister of Mines Petroleum and Energy, Mamadou Sangofowa Coulibaly, has announced that Italy’s Eni SpA has started production under the first phase from Baleine field.
This initial phase will produce 15,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) and about 25 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. The second phase, scheduled for the end of 2024, will bring production to 50,000 bpd and about 70 million cubic feet of associated gas. The third phase of development will aim to increase production to 150,000 bpd of oil and 200 million cubic feet of gas. In total, resources are estimated at 2.5 billion barrels of crude oil and 3,300 billion cubic feet of natural gas (Bloomberg)
In our outlook earlier this year, we stated the joint venture project between ENI and Petroci at Baleine (in French – Whale) would meaningfully boost oil and gas production in the country while simultaneously narrowing the current account deficit (the gas from the project is going to be converted to electricity and it is estimated to supply the whole country). Since September 2021, when the Italian hydrocarbon giant ENI discovered the Baleine offshore field, there has been broad support from the government to ensure the project takes off.
