Italian energy company Eni said Monday it started production in the Baleine oil and gas field, offshore Ivory Coast.
The production began less than two years after the initial discovery. It also began less than a year and a half after a final investment decision.
Eni said the Baleine field is the largest of its kind off the Ivorian coast. Output from an offshore production vessel will begin gradually, with an initial 15,000 barrels of oil and 25 million standard cubic feet of natural gas per day.
At its peak, Eni believes the field will yield 150,000 barrels of oil and 200 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.
To put that in context, peak oil production would be equivalent to the inland Appalachia basin in the United States, the second-lowest oil producer.
Gas production would be minimal relative to U.S. natural gas.
Eni added that all of the gas from the Ivory Coast field would move onshore through a new pipeline that will help Ivory Coast address its domestic electricity needs.
“Stemming from an extraordinary exploration success, we have achieved an industry-leading time-to-market of under two years from the declaration of commercial discovery,” Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi said.
Nevertheless, West Africa has emerged as a vibrant producer since the 2010s. Apart from Nigeria and Cameroon, Ghana is also an oil producer, churning out offshore 175.86 thousand barrels per day, as at March 2023.
Crude oil production in Ghana increased from 173.66 thousand barrels per day in April 2022 to 175.86 thousand barrels per day in March 2023 growing at an average annual rate of 0.12%.
