Murphy finds non-commercial hydrocarbons in Africa: Offshore drilling ops set to continue

January 20, 2026, by Melisa Cavcic

Houston-based oil and gas company Murphy Oil has encountered non-commercial hydrocarbons during drilling activities at a well off the coast of Côte d’Ivoire on the southern coast of West Africa.

An offshore rig — Illustration; Source: Murphy Oil

While revealing the drilling results of the Civette exploration well in Block CI-502 offshore Côte d’Ivoire, the U.S.-headquartered player explained that the well reached a total depth of 13,950 feet (4,252 meters) and encountered non-commercial hydrocarbons across multiple intervals.

Eric Hambly, President and Chief Executive Officer of Murphy Oil, commented: “A key outcome at Civette is that we confirmed the presence of hydrocarbons in this frontier play – a meaningful success in early-stage exploration.

“While Civette did not meet commercial thresholds, the well provided insights that strengthen our subsurface understanding for the potential of the basin and inform the remaining prospectivity on the CI-502 Block.”

Murphy (90%), together with its partner, Société Nationale d’Opérations Pétrolières de la Côte d’Ivoire (PETROCI) (10%), will continue the exploration program in Côte d’Ivoire with the Caracal and Bubale prospects, targeting independent plays with significant resource potential.

These drilling results come days after the U.S.-based firm Murphy Oil announced the successful appraisal of an oil discovery in the Cuu Long Basin off the coast of Vietnam.

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