UK’s Tullow Oil has acquired a 90 percent stake in four onshore blocks in Cote d’Ivoire, with the remaining 10 percent held by Petroci, the national oil company of Cote d’Ivoire. The onshore blocks cover 5,035 square kilometres and are located on the coast, mostly to the west of Abidjan.
Tullow believes that this acreage will complement the Group’s existing exploration portfolio as the blocks are located in a proven petroleum system, indicated by multiple oil seeps and past-production from the Eboinda Oil Sands.
Paul Mcdade, Tullow’s Chief Executive Officer, stated, ‘I am very pleased to have signed the licenses for these blocks and look forward to exploring again in Cote d’Ivoire. We have a long history in Cote d’Ivoire having been in the country since 1997 and I am excited about the potential that these blocks, with their proven petroleum system, offer.’
Cote d’Ivoire, which produces 8,000 barrels of oil and 200 million cubic feet of gas daily, is trying to jumpstart its oil industry just as other countries in West Africa such as Senegal are making large new finds and attracting oil majors. If commercial discoveries are made, the maturity of Cote d’Ivoire’s oil industry proposes a relatively short and low-cost path to production.