Côte d’Ivoire, Tano Basin

In September 2021, Eni announced a major oil discovery in block CI-101 offshore Côte d’Ivoire with preliminarily estimates indicating between 1.5 and 2.0 billion barrels of oil in place and between 1.8 and 2.4 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of associated gas.

The discovery, drilled on the Baleine prospect, proved the presence of light oil (40° API) in two different stratigraphic levels of Santonian and Cenomanian / Albian age. The Baleine-1x well was drilled approximately 60 km off the coast, in about 1,200 m of water depth, and reached a total depth of 3,445 m. 

Reveal reservoir potential with 3D broadband seismic

The Eastern Grand Bassam sub-basin can be considered the western continuation of the prolific Tano basin, offshore Cote d’Ivoire. Exploration has been traditionally focused within water depths of up to 500 m, with a number of important discoveries spread along the Ivorian margin. More recently, the latest discoveries in deep marine settings, such as Paon, Pelican, Rossignol, have switched attention to the more distal domains of the basin.   

The Baleine discovery, a few kilometers east of the CGG 3D seismic coverage, represents the largest discovery offshore Africa in 2021 and one of the biggest worldwide for that year. This discovery opens the door for a new play concept and brings light on some of the key questions related to the presence and quality of reservoir and source facies.