Eni Starts Production at Baleine field in Ivory Coast
Italian oil and gas giant Eni has started oil and gas production at the Balein field on the continental shelf of Côte d’Ivoire.
This was reported by the press service of the company.
This stage came less than 2 years after opening in September 2021 and less than 1.5 years after the final investment decision (FID). The Baleine development will be Africa’s first zero-emission project.
Simultaneously with the 1st stage, full-scale studies will be promoted and the best available technologies (BAT) will be used:
Baleine is currently the largest hydrocarbon deposit in the Ivory Coast sedimentary basin.
Initial production will be carried out using the Baleine floating oil and gas production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facility. FPSO Baleine, after repair and modernization, is capable of processing up to 15 thousand barrels per day of oil and about 25 million m3 per day of associated petroleum gas (APG).
The ceremony to send the FPSO to the field took place in April 2023.
The start of the 2nd phase is expected by the end of 2024 and will increase production at the field to 50 thousand barrels per day of oil and approximately 70 million m3 per day of APG.
The third phase of development is aimed at increasing production at the field to 150,000 barrels per day of oil and 200 million m3 per day of gas.
All gas produced from the Balein field at this stage of development and later will be delivered to land via a newly built gas pipeline.
This will allow the country to meet domestic demand for electricity, facilitate access to energy resources and strengthen its role as a regional energy hub for neighboring countries.
Baleine deposit
- Discovered in September 2021 at block CI-101 by exploration well Baleine-1x;
- the block is jointly managed by Eni with the national Petroci Holding, which own 90% and 10% respectively during the exploration phase;
- the well was drilled on the shelf about 60 km from the coast:
– water depth – 1.2 thousand m,
– drilling depth – 3.4 thousand m.
– drilling rig – drilling vessel Saipem 10 000; - explored reserves are preliminary estimated within:
– up to 2.0 billion barrels oil;
– up to 68 bcm of APG.
Eni, together with Petroci Holding, also owns an interest in the other 4 blocks of deepwater Ivorian fields: CI-205, CI-501, CI-504 and CI-802.
