Côte d’Ivoire's exploration drive rebooted
Can an overhaul of concessions lure companies to the country's frontier acreage?
The acquisition of four exploration licenses by Tullow Oil in October was a boon for Côte d'Ivoire's energy ministry, which is keen to build on modest oil and gas production by reawakening interest in frontier acreage. The ministry has just finished a revision of the country's block map covering 87,000 sq km of sedimentary basin, mostly offshore. Some blocks have been redrawn to make them more attractive by amalgamating them with neighbours to increase their size. Ultra-deep-water acreage is now on offer in addition to onshore, shallow-water and deep-water blocks. The country is allocating blocks not via a bid round, but through direct negotiations—a process which its energy minister, Thierr
Also in this section
8 January 2026
Indonesia and Malaysia are at the dawn of breathtaking digital capabilities. Their energy infrastructure must keep up with their ambitions
8 January 2026
The next five years will be critical for the North Sea, and it will be policy not geology that will decide the basin’s future
8 January 2026
The region’s access to versatile feedstock, combined with policy support, is setting it up to meet growing demand both at home and abroad
7 January 2026
No longer can the energy source be considered a sidekick to oil in the Middle East and neither should it step aside for less convincing alternatives
