Investments in the development of oil and gas fields in Côte d'Ivoire will amount to $15 billion over the next three years, the President of the Republic, Alassane Ouattara, stated on Tuesday.
Moreover, production would rise from 60,000 barrels per day to about 200,000 barrels per day by 2027 thanks to recent oil and gas discoveries in the Baleine and Calao offshore fields, which will be a "spectacular leap," according to the head of state.
“By the end of 2027, Côte d’Ivoire will produce up to 200,000 barrels of oil per day,” the head of state noted in a speech before both houses of parliament.
In 2021, the first large Baleine field was discovered offshore Côte d'Ivoire in the Gulf of Guinea by the Italian energy group Eni. The field's reserves are estimated at 2.5 billion barrels of oil and 3.3 trillion cubic feet (about 93 billion cubic meters) of gas. Eni reportedly said it would invest $10 billion in the development of the Baleine field, which will take place in three phases between 2023 and 2027.
In the spring of 2024, another field, Calao, was discovered on the shelf, with estimated reserves of 1.5-2 billion barrels of oil and up to 2.4 trillion cubic feet (about 67 billion cubic meters) of associated gas.
Côte d'Ivoire's economic growth is expected to be around 7% between 2024 and 2027, Ouattara also said, adding that the country should remain the economic engine of the French-speaking West African region.
According to experts, in 2027, Côte d'Ivoire will become one of the ten largest oil producers in Africa. Moreover, thanks to the discovery of the new fields, the country will meet the conditions to become a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, according to Ivorian Minister of Mines, Petroleum, and Energy Mamadou Sangafowa Coulibaly.