Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire
Eni makes 'major' Cote d’Ivoire discovery
Italian firm plans fast-track development of find in offshore Baleine prospect
Italy’s Eni has made a “major oil discovery” offshore Cote d’Ivoire in the Baleine prospect, the company says. Preliminary reserve estimates are 1.5-2bn bl of oil and 1.8-2.4tn ft³ (51-68bn m³) of gas. Eni operates the block where the discovery was made, CI-101, with a 90pc stake, while the remaining 10pc is held by state oil company Petroci. The partners now plan an appraisal programme and to “start studies for a fast-track development of the Baleine discovery”. 1.5-2bn bl – Estimated reserves The test well—Eni’s first in Cote d’Ivoire—was about 60km from the coast and in waters 1,200m deep, and produced light oil of 40° API. The Italian firm says there is “significant upside potent
Also in this section
16 January 2026
The country’s global energy importance and domestic political fate are interlocked, highlighting its outsized oil and gas powers, and the heightened fallout risk
16 January 2026
The global maritime oil transport sector enters 2026 facing a rare convergence of crude oversupply, record newbuild deliveries and the potential easing of several geopolitical disruptions that have shaped trade flows since 2022
15 January 2026
Rebuilding industry, energy dominance and lower energy costs are key goals that remain at odds in 2026
14 January 2026
Chavez’s socialist reforms boosted state control but pushed knowledge and capital out of the sector, opening the way for the US shale revolution
