Italy’s Eni makes giant oil discovery in offshore Ivory Coast
Italian energy group Eni (ENI.MI) said on Wednesday it had made a giant oil discovery in offshore Ivory Coast which could hold as much as 2 billion barrels of oil. Continue Reading
BP and Kosmos partner on five Ivory Coast offshore oil blocks
Ivory Coast has awarded partners BP and Kosmos Energy five new offshore oil blocks under an agreement with state oil company Petroci, government spokesman Bruno Kone said on Wednesday. Petroci Continue Reading
Billions at risk for Ghana, oil firms from ocean boundary ruling
DAKAR/ACCRA (Reuters) – Ghana’s decision to seek arbitration in a dispute with Ivory Coast over an oil-rich basin in the Atlantic could prove costly for the country and a consortium led by Tullow if a court halts development there. The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea will rule on Saturday on Ivory Coast’s February request for a moratorium on activity in the basin. The decision is part of legal proceedings on a maritime border dispute sought by Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama in September. Although many expect the dispute to be ultimately settled in Ghana’s favor, analysts say a ruling that prevented the $4.9 billion offshore TEN oil and gas field opening in mid-2016 would be a further blow to the battered Ghanaian economy. "Even if Ghana wins on the boundary eventually, as most people expect, they stand to lose two years of revenues from TEN which […]
Total Finds Oil in Deep Offshore Ivory Coast
French oil major Total SA (TOT) Thursday said it has found oil while drilling in deep offshore Ivory Coast. The company said it found liquid hydrocarbon below 2,300 meters of water. Total will now evaluate the extent of the find, it said in a statement. "Drilled in an abrupt margin play, this first well is the first discovery in the San Pedro Basin, a frontier exploration area in Ivory Coast," said Marc Blaizot, the senior vice president for exploration at Total. "Having confirmed the presence of a petroleum system containing light oil, we will next evaluate this very promising find." Total operates in Ivory Coast in a partnership with Canada’s CNR International and French PETROCI Holding. Total owns 54% in the joint venture, CNR 36% and PETROCI the remaining 10%. Write to Inti Landauro at inti.landauro@wsj.com
Ivory Coast Sees Soaring Oil Output Rivaling Ghana by 2019
Ivory Coast Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan said his nation will boost oil production within five years to 200,000 barrels a day, rivaling neighboring Ghana as stability returns to a country racked by a decade of turmoil. The West African nation wants oil companies to increase exploration and drilling offshore after output more than halved to about 30,000 barrels a day because of technical problems, he said in an interview Jan. 6. Ghana pumps about 100,000 barrels a day and wants to more than double output to 250,000 by 2021. Ghana is West Africa’s fourth-largest producer, after Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. “We have about 50 oil blocks of which half have been awarded,” Duncan said in the commercial capital, Abidjan. “We expect to add at least five wells a year.” President Alassane Ouattara has pledged to spur economic growth by investing in energy and infrastructure […]