Vaalco Energy advances offshore drilling, development in Gabon and Ivory Coast

The operator has drilled a high-quality Gamba sands well in Gabon, while continuing exploration efforts in Congo basin. Meanwhile, in Ivory Coast, Vaalco is preparing for field development.
Feb. 24, 2026
2 min read

Key Highlights

  • In Gabon, Vaalco had positive initial well results on the Etame 15H-ST well and spud the next well.
  • In Ivory Coast, the operator will begin a development plan for Kossipo field.

Vaalco Energy Inc. is drilling Etame field offshore Gabon and a preparing a field development plan (FDP) off Ivory Coast. 

In Gabon, Vaalco drilled, completed, and placed Etame 15H-ST development well on production in Etame oil field in 1V block. The well has a 250 m lateral interval of net pay in high-quality Gamba sands near the top of the reservoir.

The well had a stabilized flow rate of about 2,000 gross b/d of oil with a 38% water cut through a 42/64-in. choke and ESP at 54 Hz, confirming expectations from the ET-15P pilot well results. The company is working to stabilize pressure and manage the reservoir.

West Etame step out exploration well spudded in mid-February. Drilling the well from the S1 slot on the Etame platform Etame West (ET-14P) exploration prospect has a 57% chance of geologic success and is expected to reach the target zone by mid-March.

Etame Marin block lies in Congo basin about 32 km off the coast of Gabon. The license area is spread over five fields covering about 187 sq km. Vaalco is operator at the block with 58.8% interest.

In Ivory Coast, Vaalco has been confirmed as operator (60%) of Kossipo field on the CI-40 Block southwest of Baobab field with partner PetroCI holding the remaining 40%. An FDP is expected to be completed in second-half 2026.

New ocean bottom node (OBN) seismic data is expected to drive and derisk Vaalco’s updated evaluation and development plan. Estimated Gross 2C resources are 102-293 MMboe in place.

The Baobab Ivorien (formerly MV10) floating production storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) is currently off the East coast of Africa and is expected to return to Ivory Coast by late March.

 

About the Author

Alex Procyk

Upstream Editor

Alex Procyk is Upstream Editor at Oil & Gas Journal. He has also served as a principal technical professional at Halliburton and as a completion engineer at ConocoPhillips. He holds a BS in chemistry (1987) from Kent State University and a PhD in chemistry (1992) from Carnegie Mellon University. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).

Sign up for our eNewsletters
Get the latest news and updates