Vitol has agreed to extend its partnership with Eni in West Africa to Côte d’Ivoire and the Republic of Congo.

The two companies currently co-operate in the Eni-led OCTP and Block 4 projects offshore Ghana.

Pending regulatory approvals, Vitol will acquire stakes in various Eni-operated oil and gas producing fields and blocks where exploration, appraisal and development is taking place.

Among these are the deepwater Baleine development offshore Côte d’Ivoire, which Eni operates with a 77.25% interest; Vitol will acquire a 30% share.

At the Congo LNG project in the Republic of Congo (Eni 65%), Vitol will take a 25% interest.

Baleine, discovered in 2021, came onstream in 2023. Production is currently above 60,000 boe/d, with plans to raise capacity under Phase 3 to 150,000 bbl/d of oil and 200 MMcf/d of associated gas. All gas volumes will be allocated to Côte d’Ivoire’s domestic market.

Estimated value of the combined transaction is $1.65 billion.

On March 19, Eni reported that it, along with partner Petroci, increased gas supply for Côte d'Ivoire’s power generation system. Phase 2 of the Baleine project launched in December 2024 on schedule and with full safety measures, Eni said. The company also said Baleine is the first net-zero upstream project (Scope 1 and 2) in Africa.