Petrobras makes a play for offshore acreage in Côte d’Ivoire

Brazil’s state-owned energy giant Petrobras has taken steps to secure offshore acreage in Côte d’Ivoire, also known as Ivory Coast, by handing over a declaration of interest for exploration blocks in this country, which is located on the west coast of Africa.

The submission of a declaration of interest comes after the Côte d’Ivoire government, through its Council of Ministers, gave its stamp of approval in favor of Petrobras’ declaration of interest for nine blocks, as the first phase in the acquisition process, which is then followed by contractual negotiations for these blocks.

The Brazilian giant highlights that the purpose of the declaration is to ensure exclusivity in the contractual negotiation phase in line with its long-term strategy, which is aimed at replenishing oil and gas reserves by exploring new frontiers, both in Brazil and internationally. The evaluation of new areas aims to diversify the company’s exploratory portfolio.
 
Magda Chambriard, Petrobras’ CEO, commented: “The geographic location of Ivory Coast, on the African Atlantic coast, is of great interest to Petrobras. We have a lot of experience in this region, on this side of the Atlantic, where the Campos and Santos basins are located, and I believe that we can also achieve important results on the other side of the ocean.

“We are focused on replenishing oil reserves and rebuilding our exploratory portfolio, and we see Ivory Coast as a region with great potential.”

Côte d’Ivoire presented its National Energy Compact vision in January 2025, which aims to attract a total investment of $6.56 billion, with an ambitious target of $2 billion in private investment in electricity access and renewable energy development to ensure access to affordable, reliable, inclusive, sustainable, and clean energy.

The country’s attractiveness on the global oil scene was confirmed recently when several players, including BP, Petrobras, and Vitol, revealed their intention to invest heavily in the Ivorian offshore in the wake of major field discoveries and reforms undertaken to provide an attractive environment for investors.

A decade after its withdrawal from the country, BP is making a comeback to Côte d’Ivoire to reinvest in oil exploration, an initiative that is part of its board’s new strategy. The firm will acquire data from preliminary studies of the Ivorian sedimentary basin to refine its selection of blocks for exploration.

Unlike BP, Petrobras is a new entrant in Côte d’Ivoire, where it plans to acquire data on four identified offshore blocks and explore a partnership with PETROCI. The Swiss oil trading giant, Vitol, disclosed its intention to expand its activities into offshore exploration a few months ago to participate in consortia specializing in oil research to identify new exploitable deposits.

Vaalco Energy has also shown increased interest in four new offshore blocks, following the acquisition of its first block in Côte d’Ivoire in March 2025. On the other hand, Murphy Oil, which holds five offshore blocks, one of which contains proven natural gas reserves, plans to complete its first drilling in the country before the end of 2025.

Recently, Vaalco revealed a timeline for the departure of a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel, operated by Canadian Natural Resources International (CNRI), from a deepwater oil field in Côte d’Ivoire to embark on a revamp in the UAE to extend its production lifespan.

These investment disclosures came after the United States reaffirmed its commitment to Côte d’Ivoire in developing its oil sector, with Chris Wright, U.S. Secretary of Energy, emphasizing the U.S. administration’s zest to support Africa in exploiting its energy resources.