By Ejekwu Chidiebere
EWI (Media) Eni has just announced the completion of the sale of a 30% stake in the Baleine project in Côte d’Ivoire, to Vitol. The Baleine project is the country’s main offshore development and is now owned by Eni (47, 25%), Vitol (30%) and Petroci (22,75%).
Eni said in a statement posted to Energy Window International (Media) by email that the transaction aligned with its strategy of optimizing its upstream portfolio by accelerating the monetization of exploration discoveries through the divestment of equity stakes, a model it has also called the “dual exploration model.”
It would be recalled that Eni and Vitol have already started working as partners under the OCTP and Block 4 projects in Ghana, “and this transaction further strengthens their collaboration in West Africa”.
Eni said that it has been present in Cote d’Ivoire since 2015, and Baleine is its first development in the country, and the first net-zero development in Africa. The “giant Baleine field” the Italian Eni said was discovered in 2021, “two decades after the last commercial discovery in the country and it achieved production in record time, in 2023”. Energy Window International (Media) gathers that currently, Baleine produces over 62.000 barrels of oil and more than 75 million cubic feet of gas per day from Phases 1 and 2. It added production is expected to rise to 150,000 barrels of oil and 200 million cubic feet of gas per day when Phase 3 comes onstream thereby positioning Baleine as a cornerstone in meeting the country’s domestic energy needs.
Vitol Eni said, is a global energy and commodities company which has had an upstream presence in West Africa region for many years.