(Bloomberg) – Ivory Coast expects its oil output to increase more than fivefold in the next decade, boosted by recent discoveries and the start of production at two offshore fields.
Eni operations, offshore Ivory Coast
“By 2035, crude-oil production is expected to reach at least 500,000 barrels per day, placing our country among the top five oil-producing countries on the continent,” Minister of Petroleum, Energy and Mines Mamadou Sangafowa-Coulibaly said. “Natural gas will account for 1 million cubic feet per day.”
The world’s leading cocoa producer aims to position itself as a major regional oil and gas player and energy hub, the minister said at the inauguration of a new wharf owned by state petroleum company Petroci, in Abidjan, the commercial capital.
Increased production will straddle a period of surging oil prices after Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran, which retaliated with waves of ballistic missiles and drones, raising fears of a wider regional conflict and disruptions to flows of the fuel.
Eni SpA has made significant offshore hydrocarbon discoveries at Baleine and Calao.
Ivory Coast is in talks with Eni over a new oil-exploration block after the Italian major in December started a second phase at Baleine aimed at increasing output to 60,000 bpd. A third phase will more than double production to 150,000 bpd.
Houston-based Vaalco Energy Inc. and Brazil’s Petrobas are in talks with Petroci to invest in as many as 10 offshore oil blocks.
The nation expects more than $16 billion of investments in its oil sector by 2030, including infrastructure such as pipelines, tankers and railways, Sangafowa-Coulibaly said.
Washington-based Yaatra Ventures recently reached an agreement with state-owned Société Ivoirienne de Raffinage to build the country’s second petroleum refinery, with a potential investment of 3 trillion CFA francs ($5.3 billion).
