Ivory Coast and SOCAR move toward completion of Baleine deal

Ivory Coast’s regulators are expected to approve by the end of June SOCAR’s acquisition of a 10% stake in the offshore Baleine oil and gas project in the Gulf of Guinea.

The launch of the third development phase is expected to increase oil production from 60,000 barrels per day to 150,000 bpd and raise gas output from 80 million to 200 million cubic feet per day.

Once the transaction is completed, the project’s shareholders will be Vitol with 30%, Petroci with 22.75%, Eni with 37.25% and SOCAR with 10%.

The Baleine field was discovered in 2021 and has been producing commercially since 2023. Recoverable reserves are estimated at around 2.5 billion barrels of oil and about 100 billion cubic metres of natural gas.

The investment will become SOCAR’s first upstream asset in Africa and marks another step in the company’s international expansion strategy.

By N. Tebrizli