The Azerbaijani NOC enters West Africa through Ivory Coast’s flagship offshore field
Azerbaijan’s state oil company, the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), has completed the acquisition of a 10% interest in the Baleine offshore oil and gas project — Ivory Coast’s largest hydrocarbon discovery — marking the company’s first entry into African upstream operations.
The transaction was finalised after all required regulatory approvals were secured.
Following completion, Italian energy major Eni holds 37.25% and remains the operator, commodity trader Vitol holds 30%, Ivory Coast’s state oil company Pétrole de Côte d’Ivoire (PETROCI) holds 22.75%, and SOCAR holds the remaining 10%.
Discovered in 2021 and brought into production in August 2023 — less than two years after discovery and within 18 months of its Final Investment Decision (FID) — Baleine has been developed through a phased model that investors in West African upstream projects have watched closely. The field’s first two phases are currently producing more than 57,000 barrels of oil and 78 million cubic feet of gas per day.
In May 2026, Eni and its partners approved the FID for Phase 3, which targets a significant production increase to 150,000 barrels per day of oil and 200 million cubic feet per day of gas.
The project uses floating production and storage infrastructure; Phase 2, which began production in December 2024, added the FPSO Petrojarl Kong alongside the FSO Yamoussoukro already in place. Processed gas is supplied to Ivory Coast’s domestic market through a pipeline constructed during Phase 1.
Eni has positioned Baleine as the first net-zero emissions upstream development in Africa on a Scope 1 and 2 basis — meaning emissions from the company’s own operations and energy consumption are offset or eliminated.
The project incorporates advanced technologies alongside community-level initiatives, including improved cookstoves and the protection and restoration of classified forests.
For SOCAR, the deal extends an international upstream portfolio that has historically been concentrated closer to home into one of West Africa’s most active offshore development zones. The acquisition gives the Azerbaijani national oil company (NOC) exposure to a producing asset with a clear, approved growth trajectory.
For Ivory Coast, the addition of another international NOC as a project partner deepens the consortium backing its flagship offshore development at a time when the government is actively working to expand oil and gas output and reinforce domestic energy supply.
The Baleine project’s gas-to-domestic-market component is particularly relevant to Ivory Coast’s broader energy security ambitions.
The deal also reflects a wider pattern of NOC portfolio diversification into African upstream assets, a trend that investors tracking West African energy sector consolidation are monitoring with growing interest.
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