Vaalco Takes Over CI705 Block Offshore Ivory Coast

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Vaalco Takes Over CI705 Block Offshore Ivory Coast

Houston, Texas-based VAALCO Energy Inc. has acquired the operatorship of CI-705 block with a 70 percent stake from Ivory Coast Exploration Oil & Gas SAS (ICE) for $3 million. “We believe the CI-705 block is favorably located in a proven petroleum system, near existing infrastructure with access to a strong growing domestic market with attractive upside […]

Houston, Texas-based VAALCO Energy Inc. has acquired the operatorship of CI-705 block with a 70 percent stake from Ivory Coast Exploration Oil & Gas SAS (ICE) for $3 million.

“We believe the CI-705 block is favorably located in a proven petroleum system, near existing infrastructure with access to a strong growing domestic market with attractive upside potential”, Vaalco chief executive George Maxwell said in an online statement.

Located in the offshore Tano Basin, CI-705 block is about 70 kilometers (43.5 miles) to the west of Vaalco’s CI-40 Block, which contains the producing Baobab field and the discovered but undeveloped Kossipo field, and 60 kilometers west of Eni SpA’s recent Calao discovery, according to Vaalco.

CI-705 spans about 2,300 square kilometers (888.03 square miles) in waters up to 2,500 meters (8,202.1 feet) deep. Three wells have been drilled so far.

“Our initial assessment is that there are both oil and natural gas prospects on the block and we plan to conduct a detailed, integrated geological analysis to assess and mature our understanding of the block’s overall prospectivity”, Maxwell said.

Before the farm-in, ICE owned 90 percent, with the remaining 10 percent held by state-owned Petroci.

“Under the terms of the farm-in, we will operate the block with a 70 percent working interest and a 100 percent paying interest as we carry our partners at commercial terms through the seismic reprocessing and interpretation stages and potentially drilling up to two exploration wells”, Maxwell said.

ICE said separately, “VAALCO will carry ICE’s retained interest during the exploration phase, including the costs associated with the licensing of 3D seismic data and, in the event the joint venture progresses to the exploration drilling phase, VAALCO will carry ICE in full on up to two wells”.

“ICE will also receive a cash payment at completion predominantly relating to certain historical costs incurred on the block”, ICE added.

Maxwell noted, “When we announced our entry into the country in 2024 as a non-operating partner in the CI-40 block, we noted our excitement to be expanding our West African focus in a well-established and investment-friendly country”.

In the Ivory Coast Vaalco’s 27.39 percent interest in CI-40, acquired 2024 through the takeover of Svenska Petroleum Exploration AB, represented a net production of 4,500 barrels of oil equivalent a day in 2023, according to information on Vaalco’s website. CI-40, operated by Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., had 25.8 million net barrels of oil equivalent proven and probable reserves as of the end of 2023, according to Vaalco.

For now floating production, storage and offloading vessel Baobab Ivoirien MV10 has stopped operation, since January 2025, to undergo refurbishment. The refurbishment will allow production to continue until at least 2028, Vaalco said February 3.

“We have already been paid back 1.8×1 our initial net investment in Côte d’Ivoire in the eight months since closing and the performance of the asset has tracked well ahead of our expectations at the time of the acquisition”, Maxwell said then.

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