Aberdeen’s offshore engineering capabilities are playing a growing role in supporting fast-track deepwater development in West Africa, as Altera Infrastructure highlighted this week at the Wider African Energy Summit in Aberdeen.
Speaking at the event, held in partnership with the African Energy Chamber, Stig Bøtker, Altera’s Director of Business Development, said the company increasingly relies on its UK base to deliver projects in emerging African offshore hubs—most notably Ivory Coast’s rapidly expanding Baleine development.
Bøtker pointed to the Petrojarl Kong FPSO, now operating at the Eni-operated Baleine field, as a leading example. The vessel was redeveloped on an accelerated 24-month schedule, starting in late 2022 and achieving first oil in December 2024. It currently processes 40,000 bpd of oil and 44 MMscf/d of gas, with the associated gas supplying an onshore power plant in Ivory Coast.
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Altera also secured $464 million in post-delivery financing through a U.S. private placement—the first transaction of its kind for a West African offshore project—strengthening the commercial framework for future developments in the region.
A core focus, Bøtker said, is expanding Ivory Coast’s energy workforce and supplier base. Altera has reached 85% Ivorian employment onshore and 46% offshore, supported by training programs, partnerships with technical institutions and hands-on development aboard the company’s FPSOs.
“Strengthening local suppliers and building long-term capability is essential,” he said. “It’s important for us to continue developing people and expanding the region’s technical capacity.”
Bøtker added that Altera is deploying emissions-reduction technologies already used in the North Sea and aims to source more equipment and services locally as the Baleine project grows. The firm sees additional project opportunities ahead in Ivory Coast, where the government is pushing for faster oil and gas development to support domestic energy supply.
