Eni has completed the sale of a 10 per cent stake in the Baleine offshore project in Côte d’Ivoire to Azerbaijan’s SOCAR, restructuring ownership of the country’s main offshore development.

Following the transaction, Baleine is owned by Eni with 37.25 per cent, Vitol with 30 per cent, SOCAR with 10 per cent and Petroci with 22.75 per cent.

The deal forms part of Eni’s strategy to optimise its upstream portfolio and monetise exploration discoveries through equity disposals under its “dual exploration model.”

Eni, which has operated in Côte d’Ivoire since 2015, said Baleine is its first development in the country and Africa’s first net-zero development.

 Discovered in 2021, the field reached production in 2023.

Baleine currently produces more than 57,000 barrels of oil and over 78 million cubic feet of gas per day from its first two phases.

With Phase 3, production is expected to increase to 150,000 barrels of oil and 200 million cubic feet of gas per day, strengthening its role in meeting Côte d’Ivoire’s domestic energy demand.

Eni also holds interests in the Calao and Calao South discoveries, which it said further demonstrate the potential of the country’s offshore basin.

SOCAR, headquartered in Azerbaijan, is an integrated energy company with operations spanning exploration and production, refining, petrochemicals, transportation, trading and distribution. -OGN/TradeArabia News Service