After Selling Nigeria’s Onshore Oil Assets, Oil Company Invests in Another African Country
- Four exploration blocks in Côte d'Ivoire's offshore have been acquired through contracts signed in Abidjan by Eni and the Ministry of Mines, Oil, and Energy
- This is coming after the Italian multinational oil company completed the sale of its Nigerian onshore oil and gas exploration and production unit
- The agreement in Cote d'Ivoire further strengthens the company's position in the nation, the organization said in a statement
Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has 5-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.
Eni and the Côte d'Ivoire Ministry of Mines, Oil, and Energy have inked agreements in Abidjan to purchase four new offshore exploration blocks.
Source: Getty Images
This comes after the Italian multinational oil company completed the sale of its Nigerian onshore oil and gas exploration and production unit in August 2024 for around $800 million
The deal included the Brass River Oil Terminal, the Kwale-Okpai power plants, 12 production stations, three gas processing facilities, and 40 oil and gas fields.
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The transaction was a component of Eni's plan to sell off non-strategic assets to streamline its upstream operations.
New deal
According to a statement, the signing in Cote d'Ivoire further consolidates the company's presence in the country.
The combined area of the blocks CI-504, CI-526, CI-706, and CI-708 is approximately 5,720 square kilometers, with ocean depths varying from 1,000 to 3,500 meters.
According to the oil major, their proximity to the Calao discovery, made in Block CI-205, represents a strategic opportunity to create further synergies in the area.
Eni will have up to nine years under the agreement to explore the region.
With an equity output of over 22,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, Eni has been operating in Côte d'Ivoire since 2015. The company now partners with Petroci Holding on six blocks in the Ivorian deepwater: CI-101, CI-205, CI-401, CI-501, CI-801, and CI-802.
Baleine and Calao are the two biggest finds Eni has found in the nation to date, and it is currently greatly expanding its output.
The company is preparing for the December 2024 launch of Phase 2, which will increase total production from the Baleine field 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), just one year after the start-up of Baleine Phase 1.
It stated that during Phase 3, which is presently being studied, this will rise to 150,000 barrels of oil per day and 200 million cubic feet of associated gas.
Big oil company announces investment in Nigeria
Legit.ng earlier reported that despite years of decline, Chevron Corp has increased its exploration acreage in African oil producers, such as Nigeria and Angola, where it believes there is a chance for a production resurgence.
According to Liz Schwarze, vice president of global exploration, West Africa is a region rich in hydrocarbons but has received little attention compared to other regions.
Bloomberg reported that Chevron is adding several blocks while some of its counterparts are leaving.
Proofreading by James, Ojo Adakole, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.
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