Eni Starts Up Baleine's Second Phase, Boosting Production Offshore Côte d'Ivoire
December 30, 2024
Italian energy giant Eni has started production from the second phase of Baleine field's development offshore Côte d'Ivoire, which will increase its output to 60,000 barrels of oil per day and 70 million cubic feet of associated gas.
Phase 2 will see the Floating Production, Storage and Offloading Unit (FPSO) Petrojarl Kong deployed alongside the Floating Storage and Offloading Unit (FSO) Yamoussoukro for the export of oil, while all of the processed gas will supply the local energy demand through the connection with the pipeline built during the project’s Phase 1.
The Final Investment Decision (FID) for the project was taken in December 2022, while the Phase 1 was started in August 2023, while the Phase 2 was being developed in parallel.
The rapid development of Baleine Phase 2 has been enhanced also by the renovation and reuse of the FPSO and FSO units. The FPSO Petrojarl Kong previously operated under the name Voyageur Spirit on the Huntington field in the North Sea until 2020. The FSO Yamoussoukro, converted from the Altera shuttle tanker Nordic Brasilia, will provide additional storage capacity and oil export facilities at the field.
Altera Infrastructure owns and will operate both vessels, which are set for deployment on the Baleine field with a 15-year firm contract.
Baleine is the first net zero emission Upstream project (Scope 1 and 2) in Africa, made possible through the adoption of advanced technologies, which minimize the operations’ carbon footprint, and innovative initiatives developed in close collaboration with the Ivorian ministries.
Eni has been present in Côte d'Ivoire since 2015 with a current equity production of around 22,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The company operates 10 blocks in the Ivorian deepwaters (CI-101, CI-205, CI-401, CI-501, CI-801, CI-802, CI-504, CI-526, CI-706 and CI-708) in partnership with Petroci Holding.
With the start-up of Baleine's Phase 2 and the development of Phase 3, currently under study, Eni expects the total production from the field to reach 150,000 barrels of oil per day and 200 million cubic feet of associated gas.
