SOCAR coming aboard Eni’s oil & gas project in West Africa

January 22, 2026, by Melisa Cavcic

Italy’s energy giant Eni has sealed a deal to divest a partial stake in an oil and gas development project off the coast of Côte d’Ivoire to the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR).

FPSO Petrojarl Kong working at the Baleine development; Source: Eni

Thanks to a binding agreement with Eni, SOCAR will buy a 10% stake in the Baleine project, described as the Ivorian main offshore development operated by the Italian giant (operator, 47.25%) in partnership with Vitol (30%) and Petroci (22.75%). The closing of this transaction is subject to appropriate regulatory approvals and other customary terms and conditions.

The Baleine field was discovered in 2021, two decades after the last commercial discovery in the country, and achieved production in 2023. The sale aligns with the operator’s strategy of optimizing its upstream portfolio by accelerating the monetization of exploration discoveries through the divestment of equity stakes, a model known as the “dual exploration model.”

The agreement is also consistent with the broader collaboration between the two companies, which signed three memoranda of understanding (MoUs) in 2024, with a focus on energy security to expand cooperation in hydrocarbon exploration and production, as well as greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction and the biofuel production chain.

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Baleine, which is Eni’s first development in Côte d’Ivoire, is perceived to be the first net-zero emission development in Africa. Currently, the project produces over 62,000 barrels of oil and more than 75 million cubic feet of gas per day from Phases 1 and 2.

With the launch of Phase 3, production is expected to rise to 150,000 barrels of oil and 200 million cubic feet of gas per day, said to position Baleine as a cornerstone in meeting the country’s domestic energy needs.

This divestment comes shortly after Eni’s inauguration ceremony for its second floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) unit destined for the Rovuma basin offshore Mozambique.