Thomas Camara, Côte d’Ivoire Minister of Mines and Petroleum, announced the discovery of crude oil in the CI-101 block, in deep waters. The potential has been estimated preliminarily to be about 1.5 to 2 billion barrels of crude oil on the one hand, and about 1,800 to 2,400 billion cubic feet of associated gas on the other.
He described the discovery as a significant discovery that would greatly increase Côte d’Ivoire’s proven reserves, as well as its oil and gas production in the years to come.
The 3,445-meter-deep well was dug in 30 days 60 kilometers (40 miles) off the coast, according to Eni, an Italian business. The company went on to say that it would now conduct a more thorough assessment of the discovery’s overall potential. In 2019, the Côte d’Ivoire signed contracts with France’s Total and Eni of Italy for the exploration of four oil blocks totaling $185 million.
Drilling wells located primarily offshore, near the Ghanaian border, account for the majority of the country’s oil production, which increased by 12% in 2019 to over 36,000 barrels per day. In 2015, the small producer in west Africa updated its oil legislation to attract new investors through production sharing contracts.
There are 51 recognized fields in the country, four of which are producing, 26 of which are in exploration, and 21 of which are yet undeveloped or under negotiation. Total, a French company, announced in 2014 that their investigation in very deep seas off the coast of Côte d’Ivoire had yielded a “quite positive outcome.”
Several foreign corporations, including Tullow Oil of the United Kingdom, have announced substantial discoveries in recent years, in addition to Total and Eni.