Seek investors for deepwater oil blocks

Cote d’Ivoire will seek investors in its available offshore oil acreage, including seven new ultra-deep water blocks in the Gulf of Guinea, at a promotional event in Texas. The country is targeting companies including Exxon Mobil, Total, Eni, Anadarko Petroleum, Tullow Oil and ConocoPhillips, the ministry’s oil director Ibrahima Diaby said.

Daniel Kablan Duncan, prime minister and Adama Toungara, oil and energy minister will lead the government delegation at its promotional event in Houston.

“This oil roadshow in Houston will allow us to present the opportunities on offer in the Ivorian sedimentary basin, particularly in the deep and ultra-deep offshore zones,” Diaby said.

“We have seven ultra-deep blocks at between 3,000 and 4,000 metres and several blocks between 50 metres and 1,000 metres.”

For decades, Cote d’Ivoire, the world’s top cocoa grower, concentrated on exporting agricultural commodities neglecting development of its offshore oil and gas sector. However, since a brief civil war ended a decade of political turmoil in 2011, President Alassane Ouattara has sought to diversify the economy and seek out new revenue sources.

The oil ministry signed 18 production-sharing agreements in 18 months in 2012 and 2013, as investors bet it could emulate neighbouring Ghana’s hydrocarbons boom.

Cote d’Ivoire produces around 20,000 barrels of crude oil and around 250 million cubic feet of gas per day. The country is seeking to boost crude output to around 200,000 bpd by 2020, Diaby said.

Companies currently exploring in Ivorian waters include Anadarko, Tullow, Total, Lukoil, Canada’s CNR, Afren, Africa Petroleum and Taleveras.