(Tiper Stock Exchange) – Eni, in partnership with PetroCi, celebrated yesterday in Dubai the departure of the FPSO Firenze towards the Baleine field offshore the Ivory Coast. They attended the event Mamadou Sangafowa-Coulibaly, Minister of Mines, Oil and Energy of Côte d’Ivoire, and other dignitaries. The FPSO Florence will allow the start of production of the Baleine field, which is to date the largest hydrocarbon discovery in the Ivory Coast, with an estimated oil in place of 2.5 billion barrels and 3.3 trillion cubic feet of gas associated. The Baleine development will also be Africa’s first zero-emission (Scope 1 and 2) project.
The FPSO Florence, which will be renamed Whales after its arrival in the Ivory Coast, it was restructured and upgraded to allow it to process up to 15,000 bbl/d of oil and approximately 25 Mcfd/d of associated gas. All gas production will be delivered onshore via a newly constructed export pipeline. The installation of the subsea production system and the well completion campaign are underway and will ensure an accelerated production start-up by June 2023.
The phased development model and Eni’s fast track have proven to be effective, since – explains Eni in a note – the project should start production less than 2 years after the discovery of Baleine 1X and a year and a half after the FID. Eni is already expeditiously proceeding with the second phase of the project, forecasting the start of production by December 2024 after taking the FID in December 2022.
Eni is committed to sustainable development and the net-zero emissions project at the Baleine field is a significant step towards achieving this goal. The Baleine camp it extends over blocks CI-101 and CI-802. Eni also owns stakes in four other blocks in the Ivorian deep waters: CI-205, CI-501, CI-401 and CI-801, all with the same partner, PetroCi Holding.