Côte d'Ivoire

Why Côte d'Ivoire?

Offshore Côte d’Ivoire is a prolific hydrocarbon province along the West Africa Transform Margin, bound by the Saint Paul’s Fracture Zone to the northwest and the Romanche Fracture Zone in the southeast.

Much of the Cote d’Ivoire basin remains underexplored, but recoverable reserves totaling 4.5 billion barrels of oil and 13 trillion cubic feet of gas from 82 fields allude to the potential remaining hydrocarbon reserves yet to be realized. This poses an exciting opportunity for future hydrocarbon exploration with a wealth of exploration opportunities satisfying a range of risk appetites.

TGS offers border-to-border MegaSurvey coverage in addition to GeoStreamer data across emerging plays, and reprocessed 2D lines that extend into the ultra-deep water. Together, these datasets give explorers a clear, consistent view of open and deep-water acreage, streamlining regional screening and prospect evaluation. 

Recent Success

Previously, exploration activity has concentrated on the eastern side of the basin, targeting deepwater Late Cretaceous turbidite reservoirs, following analogues of the Jubilee and Tweneboa fields. In 2021, a Cenomanian-Albian carbonate play was also proven with the discovery of the Baleine field (640 mmbbl recoverable), the largest discovery in Côte d’Ivoire at the time.

In 2024, the discovery of the Calao field (250 mmbbl recoverable) opened up the Cenomanian play in the central deepwater part of the basin and was recorded as the second largest discovery in Côte d’Ivoire at the time. This resulted in a shift in exploration focus further to the west, resulting in a rapid uptake in license blocks and broadening the scope of exploration offshore.

The magnitude of this recent success provides a valuable perspective on exploration trends. TGS’s high-quality data coverage enables companies to scout new acreage and stay ahead of the curve.
 

Future Exploration Potential 

Côte d’Ivoire is entering a new phase of exploration, with activity increasing further west, along the basin margin and into the deepwater. The existing discoveries within this underexplored basin give an indication of the untapped potential for oil and gas discoveries in this basin.

The substantial Late Cretaceous sedimentary column and the variable basin structure along the margin exhibit numerous features and plays that remain untested. Additional Cenomanian and Turonian prospects have been mapped in the deepwater, and exploration wells will test them. Recently reprocessed 2D GeoStreamer confirms the extension of the Late Cretaceous reservoirs into the ultra-deepwater setting, further expanding the scope for exploration offshore Côte d’Ivoire.

Data Availability