Eni: sale of 10 per cent stake in the Baleine project in the Ivory Coast to Socar completed

Eni has announced the completion of the sale to the Azerbaijani state-owned company SOCAR of a 10 per cent stake in the Baleine project in the Ivory Coast. The Baleine project, the country’s main offshore development, is now owned by Eni (37.25%),
Vitol (30 per cent), Socar (10 per cent) and Petroci (22.75 per cent), the statement specifies.
The transaction is in line with Eni’s strategy to optimise its upstream portfolio, which involves bringing forward the development of exploration discoveries by reducing its stakes in them (the so-called ‘dual exploration’ model).
Eni has been operating in the Ivory Coast since 2015. Baleine is Eni’s first project in the Ivory Coast and the first net-zero emissions project in Africa. The giant Baleine field was discovered in 2021, 20 years after the country’s last commercial discovery; production began ahead of schedule a record, in 2023. Currently, across Phases 1 and 2 of the project, Baleine produces over 57,000 barrels of oil and more than 78 million cubic feet of gas per day. With the start of Phase 3, production is set to rise to 150,000 barrels of oil and 200 million cubic feet cubic metres of gas per day, the statement emphasises, confirming Baleine as a key pillar in meeting domestic energy demand. In addition to Baleine, the Calao and Calao South discoveries (with Eni as operator holding a 90 per cent stake), second in size only to Baleine, confirm the
the basin’s high potential and further consolidate Eni’s presence in the country, the statement concludes.