ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast – Fueled by significant oil and gas finds offshore, Ivory Coast is setting its sights on a major increase in oil production. President Alassane Ouattara announced on Tuesday that the nation expects to see its oil output more than triple by 2027.
This ambitious target is driven by recent discoveries in the Baleine and Calao fields. Ivory Coast, currently the world’s leading cocoa producer, aspires to leverage these resources to become a dominant player in the regional oil and gas market, transforming itself into an energy hub.
Addressing a joint session of parliament, Ouattara outlined projections for a significant rise in oil production, jumping from the current 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) to a targeted 200,000 bpd by 2027. “This will be a spectacular leap,” he declared.
Italian energy giant Eni is a key player in this transformation. The company has committed $10 billion to develop the Baleine field in a three-phase project slated for completion between 2023 and 2027. Discovered in 2021, the field holds an estimated reserve of 2.5 billion barrels of oil and a staggering 3.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Eni further bolstered Ivory Coast’s prospects with the announcement of the Calao discovery in March. Preliminary assessments suggest this field has the potential to hold between 1 billion and 1.5 billion barrels of oil.
Beyond the oil boom, President Ouattara expressed optimism regarding the nation’s overall economic growth. He projected a robust 7% growth rate between 2024 and 2027, solidifying Ivory Coast’s position as the economic powerhouse of West Africa’s French-speaking region.
