Eni signed a binding agreement with SOCAR to sell a 10 percent stake in the Baleine project, Côte d’Ivoire’s largest offshore oil and gas development. The deal is still subject to regulatory approval. Once completed, Eni will continue as operator with a 37.25 percent holding, alongside Vitol at 30 percent and the national oil company Petroci at 22.75 percent.
The sale marked another step in the fast reconfiguration of ownership at the country’s biggest producing oil and gas field. It also fit into Eni’s wider effort to streamline and rebalance its upstream portfolio.
SOCAR’s entry came shortly after Vitol invested in the project. Authorities approved the sale of a 30 percent stake to the Swiss trader at the end of September 2025. That transaction reduced Eni’s exposure while keeping it in control of operations. By bringing in partners, Eni spread financial and operational risk on an already producing asset and released capital for other upstream projects. Baleine has since become a clear example of how Eni manages its portfolio in Côte d’Ivoire.
The sale to SOCAR followed a model Eni uses to unlock value from discoveries once they move into development or production. Under this approach, the company sells targeted stakes while remaining the operator. In Côte d’Ivoire, this strategy has helped fund further offshore expansion, with Eni now holding interests in ten blocks after recent license awards.
The agreement also highlighted a deepening relationship between Eni and SOCAR. In 2024, the two companies signed three memoranda of understanding covering exploration and production, energy security, emissions reduction, and biofuels. SOCAR’s participation in Baleine turned that cooperation into a concrete partnership around one of Côte d’Ivoire’s most important energy assets.
Baleine holds a central place in Côte d’Ivoire’s energy plans. Eni entered the country in 2015 and made Baleine its first major development there. The 2021 discovery ended nearly twenty years without a significant commercial find and reshaped the country’s hydrocarbons outlook. Eni brought the field onstream in 2023 under an accelerated schedule and developed it as Africa’s first net-zero emissions oil and gas project. Phases one and two currently produce more than 62,000 barrels of oil per day and over 75 million cubic feet of gas per day, much of which supports domestic power generation.
The project is now moving toward a third phase that is still under evaluation. This stage would lift output to 150,000 barrels of oil per day and 200 million cubic feet of gas per day. Partners are targeting a final investment decision by the end of 2025. Current estimates suggest the field could remain viable until 2059, reinforcing its role as a long-term contributor to national production.
Today, Baleine accounts for about 8 percent of Côte d’Ivoire’s daily oil and gas output and plays a key role in shaping the country’s energy policy.
For Eni, the deal reinforced its approach to optimizing upstream assets. For Côte d’Ivoire, it strengthened a project that has become fundamental to the country’s energy supply and economic future.
source: www.ecofinagency.com
African Energy Council