Eni SpA said Monday it had made a “significant” natural gas and condensate discovery in the waters of Côte d’Ivoire through the first exploration well in Block CI-501.
Calao South, or the Murene South-1X well, reinforces the Calao channel complex as the West African country’s second-biggest proven hydrocarbon site after the producing Baleine field, according to energy major Eni. In the adjacent CI-205 block, the Italian state-backed company discovered Calao (Murene-1X) in 2024, declaring it the second-largest fossil fuel discovery in the Ivory Coast with preliminary estimates of 1-1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
“The discovery, named Calao South, confirms the potential of the Calao channel complex that includes also the Calao discovery and represents the second largest in the country after Baleine, with estimated volumes of up to 5.0 Tcf [trillion cubic feet] of gas and 450 million barrels of condensate (approximately 1.4 billion barrels of oil)”, Eni said in an online statement Monday. “The discovery was made in high-quality Cenomanian sands”.
Murene South-1X “confirmed the main hydrocarbon bearing interval with a gross thickness of around 50 meters [164.04 feet], with excellent petrophysical properties”, Eni said. “Murene South-1X will undergo a full conventional drill stem test (DST) to assess the production capacity of the Calao discovery”.
The Saipem Santorini drilling ship reached a total depth of around 5,000 meters in waters 2,200 meters deep, it said. Calao South sits about eight kilometers southwest of Calao, according to Eni.
Eni operates Block CI-501 with a 90 percent stake. Côte d’Ivoire’s state-owned Petroci Holding holds 10 percent.
Besides CI-501 and CI-205, Eni owns stakes in eight other Ivorian exploration blocks. Eni and Petroci are partners in CI-504, CI-526, CI-706, CI-707 and CI-708. Eni has also partnered with Petroci and energy trader Vitol Group in CI-401, CI-801, CI-802 and Baleine AEE.
Earlier this year the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) signed an agreement to acquire a 10 percent stake in the Baleine field from operator Eni.
“The transaction aligns with Eni’s strategy of optimizing its upstream portfolio by accelerating the monetization of exploration discoveries through the divestment of equity stakes, a model known as the dual exploration model”, Eni said in a press release January 22.
Baleine, developed in two phases, produces over 62,000 barrels a day of oil and more than 75 million cubic feet per day of natural gas, according to Eni. It plans to raise the field’s daily capacity to 150,000 barrels of oil and 200 million cubic feet of gas under phase 3.
Currently Eni owns 47.2 percent in Baleine, which will be reduced to 37.2 percent after the sale to SOCAR is completed. Vitol has 30 percent. Petroci owns 22.75 percent.
To contact the author, email jov.onsat@rigzone.com
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