Tullow Oil PLC has acquired 90% stakes in four onshore blocks in Ivory Coast. State oil company Petroci holds the remaining 10%. The four blocks—CI518, CI519, CI301, and CI302—cover 5,035 sq km on the coast of Ivory Coast, mostly west of Abidjan.
Tullow believes that this acreage will complement the group’s existing exploration portfolio as the blocks are in a proved petroleum system, indicated by multiple oil seeps and past production from the Eboinda oil sands.
If commercial discoveries are made, the maturity of Ivory Coast’s oil industry suggests a relatively short and low-cost path to production, Tullow said.
Tullow intends to initiate work immediately on these licenses to allow a full tensor gradiometry survey to start in early 2018.
Tullow has worked in Ivory Coast for 20 years both as an explorer and as a producer and holds a nonoperated position in Espoir field, which produces 4,000 b/d of oil, net to Tullow.