Eni acquires stake in two Ivory Coast oil blocks

Italian energy company Eni has acquired majority of stake in two oil blocks located in Tano basin off of (Côte d'Ivoire) Ivory Coast.

Eni acquired 90% stake in both the blocks, while the state-owned company Petroci will continue to own the remaining 10% of the stake.

The two offshore blocks, known by the names CI-101 and CI-205, cover a total of 2850km². The block CI-101 is at a depth ranging between 200 and 2,500 m and is located 50km south of Abidjan.

The second block, CI-205 is at a depth ranging between 2,000 and 2,700m, and located 80 km south-west from the Abidjan.

As per Eni, the acquisition is consistent with its Dual Exploration strategy to acquire stakes in exploration blocks with high hydrocarbon potential. 

The company said that it will operate the two blocks using its proprietary technologies and will also leverage important synergies with other activities in the region to reduce time-to-market and costs.

Recently, Eni entered into an agreement with ExxonMobil to sell 25% stake in an offshore gas block in Mozambique for $2.8bn.

Eni operates in the Ivory Coast through its subsidiary Eni Côte d’Ivoire, which in 2015 acquired a 30% stake in the offshore exploration block CI-100.

These recent exploration activities mark the company’s return to the country; Eni had been previously active in the Ivory Coast’s upstream and downstream sectors in the 1960s and 1980s.