Eni has signed contracts with the Ministry of Mines, Oil and Energy of Côte d’Ivoire in Abidjan to acquire four new exploration blocks in the country’s offshore region.

The blocks, named CI-504, CI-526, CI-706, and CI-708, encompass a total area of approximately 5,720 square kilometers with water depths ranging between 1,000 and 3,500 meters.

Under the agreements, Eni will have the rights to explore these blocks for up to nine years.

Their strategic proximity to the Calao discovery in Block CI-205 presents a unique opportunity for further synergies in the area, said Eni.

Eni has been actively involved in Côte d’Ivoire since 2015 and currently maintains an equity production of around 22,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d).

The company already operates six blocks in the Ivorian deepwater: CI-101, CI-205, CI-401, CI-501, CI-801, and CI-802, all in partnership with Petroci Holding.

Eni has made the two largest discoveries in the country to date, Baleine and Calao, and is poised to significantly increase its production.

Eni is preparing for the launch of Phase 2 of the Baleine in December 2024. This phase will boost total production from the Baleine field to 60,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) of oil and 70 million cubic feet (mcf) of associated gas (equivalent to 2 million cubic meters of associated gas).

Moreover, Phase 3, currently under study, aims to further increase production to 150,000 bbl/d of oil and 200 mcf of associated gas.