Côte d’Ivoire has announced a major offshore oil discovery, marking its fourth significant find in five years and reinforcing its ambition to become a leading West African energy producer.
Authorities confirmed that the Calao Sud project, located on block CI-501 in the country’s sedimentary basin, was discovered by Italian energy giant ENI in partnership with state-owned PETROCI Holding. ENI will oversee the development of the block.
The discovery lies approximately eight kilometres southwest of the Murène-1X well on block CI-205. Officials say it contains light oil, natural gas and condensates — a commercially attractive mix that enhances project economics and export flexibility.
Initial technical assessments estimate resources identified across blocks CI-501 and CI-205 at roughly 1.4bn barrels of oil equivalent.
“This development is great news for the authorities. It’s an effect of the efforts to diversify the economy, which have already brought about some impressive changes. Côte d’Ivoire is no longer wholly dependent on cocoa and coffee as it was in the past. Focus on gold, oil, and gas has been growing,” said Pascal Guédé, director of Earth Sciences and Mineral Resources Training and Research Unit of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny University in Abidjan.
Production ambitions and regional leverage
Guédé cautioned that significant work remains. “We still have a lot to do because the Ivorian sedimentary basin remains highly underexploited. I strongly believe more significant fields would be discovered in due course, and Côte d’Ivoire could become an important oil-producing country in the sub-region, but we are still far from that status,” he told Allen Dreyfus.
“With this new discovery, the prospects of Côte d’Ivoire joining, in the near future, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are getting brighter,” he added.
ENI’s previous landmark discovery — the Baleine project in September 2021 — began production in August 2023. National crude output reached 16.1mn barrels in 2024, or about 44,000 barrels per day, representing a 50% increase from 2023.
“At one time, there was zero oil production. It got to 10,000 bpd and now (2026) 66,000. The government aims to take it up to around 200,000 bpd and 450 million cubic feet of gas per day by 2030. Projects like the Baleine and Calao – the second largest oil field in the country – and the new discovery (Calao Sud) could make such a dream come true,” Guédé added.
“The new project will certainly strengthen the natural gas potential for electricity production in the country. We should not forget that Côte d’Ivoire exports power to five other countries in West Africa.”
Abidjan has launched a 25-year oil and gas infrastructure programme (2025–2050) focused on ports, transport, and storage.
In January 2025, authorities signed a $5.1bn agreement with US firm Yaatra to construct a second refinery, signalling plans to expand downstream capacity alongside upstream growth.
