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· Ivory Coast , announced a “major discovery” of oil and natural gas off its coast during an exploratory drilling carried out by the Italian hydrocarbon giant Eni
· It operated in consortium with the national company Petroci Holding. The reserves are in the form of crude oil and associated natural gas.
· The preliminary estimates indicate that about 1.5 to 2 billion barrels of crude oil and about 1,800 to 2,400 billion cubic feet of associated gas, can be mined out from the well
Ivory Coast , announced a “major discovery” of oil and natural gas off its coast during an exploratory drilling carried out by the Italian hydrocarbon giant Eni. It operated in consortium with the national company Petroci Holding. The reserves are in the form of crude oil and associated natural gas.
The preliminary estimates indicate that about 1.5 to 2 billion barrels of crude oil and about 1,800 to 2,400 billion cubic feet of associated gas, can be mined out from the well. It is a significant discovery and would greatly increase the proven reserves of Ivory Coast. The 3,445-metre-deep well was drilled about 60 kilometres (40 miles) off the coast in 30 days. Eni representatives added that it would now carry out a further evaluation of the wider potential of the find.
It may be recalled that in 2019, Ivory Coast had signed contracts with Italy’s Eni and France’s Total, for the exploration of four oil blocks corresponding to an investment of US$ 185 million. Oil production in the country, which in 2019 recorded an increase of 12% to more than 36,000 barrels per day, comes from drilling wells located mainly offshore, near the border with Ghana.
The West African nation revised its oil code in 2015 to attract new investors through production sharing contracts. It has 51 identified fields, of which, four are producing, 26 are in exploration and 21 are still free or under negotiation. In 2014, the French group Total had mentioned a “very promising result” about its research in very deep waters off the coast of Côte d’Ivoire. Several international companies, including Britain’s Tullow Oil, have announced significant discoveries in recent years in the West African country.
