Italy’s Eni has increased its resource estimate for Baleine by 25pc
Cote d’Ivoire’s Baleine set for fast-track development
The field will be the African country’s largest oil and gas development and revive a declining upstream that has seen almost 20 years without a major discovery
Italy’s Eni is planning a rapid development of the Baleine field in Cote d’Ivoire following further exploration drilling success. The IOC has increased its resource estimate by 25pc, to 2.5bn bl of oil and 3.3tn ft³ (93.45bn m³) of gas following “excellent results” from the Baleine East 1X well. Eni “looks to have a truly world-class discovery on its hands and is expediting an early production phase”, notes consultancy Welligence. Baleine East 1X is around 5km east of the previous Baleine 1X discovery. Drilling results “confirmed a potential of at least 12,000bl/d of oil and 14mn ft³/d of associated gas production” from Baleine East, says Eni. The development will be “game changing” for Cote
Also in this section
13 March 2026
Brussels is again weighing a cap on gas prices amid the Hormuz crisis, but the measure could backfire by deterring the LNG cargoes Europe urgently needs
12 March 2026
Emergency oil stocks provide a last line of defence to oil market shocks, so the IEA’s unprecedented 400m bl release represents something of a double-edged sword
12 March 2026
LPG could rapidly expand access to clean cooking across Africa and prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from indoor air pollution each year, but infrastructure shortages and regulatory barriers are slowing investment and market growth
11 March 2026
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy
