Eni, Vitol strike $1.65 bil deal for upstream assets in Ivory Coast, Congo

Eni, the Italian energy major, is selling stakes in upstream projects in Ivory Coast and the Republic of Congo to Vitol, in a further sign of trading houses acquiring African oil and gas assets.

In a joint statement March 19, the companies said the $1.65 billion deal would see Vitol acquire an interest in the huge Baleine oil and gas development off Ivory Coast, which has transformed the fortunes of the West African country, and the Congo LNG project.

Swiss-based Vitol will acquire a 30% stake in Baleine, reducing Eni's interest to 47.25%, and a 25% stake in Congo LNG, leaving Eni with 40%.

The Italian company said the deal aligned with its so-called dual exploration model, "aimed at optimizing upstream activities through a rebalancing of the portfolio that provides for the early valorization of exploration discoveries through a reduction of participations in them."

The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and will be wrapped up "as soon as practicable," the companies added.

Eni and Vitol are already partners in the OCTP and Block 4 projects in Ghana, another emerging West African producer, and the deal "further consolidates cooperation between the two companies," they said.

The giant Baleine field in Ivory Coast was discovered in 2021 and saw first oil in 2023, lightning fast by industry standards. The country's first significant hydrocarbons project, it is currently producing over 60,000 boe/d and is expected to ramp up to 150,000 b/d of oil and 200 MMcf of associated gas in its third phase, which is currently under study.

Eni has continued its leading role in Ivory Coast with the discovery of the Calao oil field in March 2024, a significant reservoir with an estimated 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent. The country has garnered a reputation for being a stable frontier in a troubled region.

Meanwhile, Congo LNG started exporting in February 2024 and currently produces 1 Bcm/year of LNG, the statement said. Congo, a member of OPEC with some 260,000 b/d of crude production according to the Platts OPEC Survey from S&P Global Commodity Insights, is looking to dramatically step up its natural gas output.

The Congo LNG project's second phase will see gas exports rise to 4.5 Bcm/year by the end of 2025.

With their deep pockets, higher risk tolerance and eagerness to be embedded across the whole oil and gas value chain, trading houses have taken on a more significant upstream role in West Africa in recent years, particularly amid a retreat of IOCs and Western banks.

In 2024, Gunvor lent Gabon $800 million to fund a oil pre-emption deal, while Glencore holds stakes in oil acreage in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.