Vaalco Energy Inc., Houston, has been granted government approval to begin the second exploration phase at Block CI-705, offshore Côte d'Ivoire.

News comes following encouraging results following completion of the first exploration phase work commitments, which included the evaluation and interpretation of existing seismic and well data, the company said in a release Nov. 9.

Work on the second exploration phase includes additional seismic reprocessing, relinquishing 25% of the exploration block to the government, and commitment to drill an exploration well by yearend-2028.

In March 2025, Vaalco farmed into and became operator of the exploration license with a 70% working interest. The block lies in the Ivoirien basin about 70 km to the west of Vaalco’s CI-40 Block, which hold Baobab and Kossipo oil fields.

“We see encouraging prospectivity on the block in the play types proven throughout the Ivoirien Basin including both structural and stratigraphic traps in the Upper Cretaceous and Albian sections,” said George Maxwell, Vaalco’s chief executive officer.

“Recent nearby discoveries are on trend with CI-705 and provide additional validation of our play concepts and our view of the block’s prospectivity,” he continued.