Eni SPA subsidiary Eni Côte d’Ivoire Ltd. has let a contract to Saipem for the Baleine Phase 3 project offshore Ivory Coast in 1,300 m of water.

Saipem’s scope of work includes engineering, fabrication, transportation, and installation of about 50 km of rigid pipelines and associated subsea structures. The activities also include the transportation and installation of flexible risers, flexible jumpers, subsea production systems, and a 3-km-long flexible gas export flowline, as well as 22 km of subsea umbilical.

The project is expected to last about 3 years and will involve the deployment of the construction vessels FDS and Shen Da.

Baleine Phase 3 includes the development of a new floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) unit and builds on the phased and fast-track development model already implemented in Baleine’s first two phases.

Eni said it expects the full-field Phase 3 development ito increase oil production at the field to 150,000 b/d from 60,000 b/d and gas output to 200 MMcfd from 80 MMcfd.

Eni Côte d’Ivoire earlier let a drilling contract to Saipem for the Santorini drillship with operations scheduled to begin in early 2027. The project includes a firm commitment for an extended drilling program, with the potential deployment of the rig in neighboring countries as well as additional optional periods.