The President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire Alassane Ouattara and Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi have met in Abidjan to celebrate production start-up from the Baleine field, situated off the eastern coast of Côte d’Ivoire, and to review Eni’s activities in the country. Eni and its partner Petroci have successfully initiated production from Baleine in August this year, achieving a time-to-market of less than two years from the giant discovery.

Oil production from Baleine stands at 20,000 bbl/d, far exceeding the initial anticipated 12,000 bbl/d. The project is set to reach its plateau of 50,000 barrels of oil per day by the end of 2024, upon completion of the second development phase; full field development is expected to enable the production of up to 150,000 bbl/d. Baleine’s gas production is entirely destined to the domestic market, strengthening access to energy in Côte d’Ivoire. Furthermore, the project is the first Net-Zero (Scope 1 and 2) development in Africa. 

The meeting was also the occasion to discuss the initiatives that Eni is carrying out to trigger economic diversification, in addition to contributing to the Country’s energy needs. Among these, it is worth mentioning the production of vegetable oil to supply Eni’s biorefineries, an operation that recently began in Côte d’Ivoire and which leverages waste from rubber production. Based on an agreement with the Federation of Hevea Producers of Côte d’Ivoire, this initiative offers additional income for 100,000 families that have already joined the program.

Eni has operated in Côte d’Ivoire since 2015. In addition to blocks CI-101 and CI-802, on which the Baleine Field extends, Eni owns interests in four other blocks in the Ivorian deepwater: CI-205, CI-504, CI-401 and CI-801, all with the same partner Petroci Holding.