Ivory Coast’s Minister of Mines, Petroleum and Energy Mamadou Sangafowa-Coulibaly will participate at this year’s MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2025 conference and exhibition, where the country’s expanding upstream portfolio and regional power ambitions will take the spotlight. The announcement follows the Ministry’s signing of a new exploration contract with energy major Eni for offshore block CI-707, reinforcing the operator’s accelerated activity in the Ivorian sedimentary basin.
The CI-707 license covers 2,926 km2 in water depths of 1,000-3,000 meters and carries a maximum nine-year exploration license. Geologically continuous with Eni’s CI-205 block – site of the Calao discovery in March 2024 – the new acreage provides a strategic opportunity to identify analogous structures and unlock synergistic developments.
Explore opportunities, foster partnerships and stay at the forefront of the MSGBC region’s oil, gas and power sector. Visit www.msgbcoilgasandpower.com to secure your participation at the MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2025 conference. To sponsor or participate as a delegate, please contact sales@energycapitalpower.com.
Ivory Coast’s upstream sector is entering a decisive growth phase anchored by the Baleine and Calao deepwater discoveries. Baleine – estimated to hold 1.5-2 billion barrels of oil and 1.8-2.4 trillion cubic feet of gas – entered Phase 2 production in December 2024, raising output to 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) and 70 million cubic feet of gas per day. Phase 3, currently under study, targets 150,000 bpd and 200 million cubic feet per day. The Calao discovery, with 1-1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent in place, further strengthens the country’s reserves outlook.
The government aims to lift national production to approximately 200,000 bpd by 2027-2028, supported by an estimated $15 billion investment pipeline. All associated gas from the Baleine discovery is supplied to the domestic market via new pipeline infrastructure, supporting gas-to-power plants that provides 69% of the national electricity mix. These production gains stand to improve regional gas availability, supporting Senegal and Mauritania as they expand gas-to-power capacity using resources from major discoveries in the MSGBC basin.
Ivory Coast operates West Africa’s third-largest power system and remains a key regional exporter. Installed capacity reached 2,548 MW in early 2024 – 1,669 MW thermal and 879 MW hydro – as the government works toward universal electricity access by 2030.
The country plays a central role in the West African Power Pool (WAPP), which achieved a historic synchronization test in November 2025 ahead of a full Economic Community of West African States-wide grid synchronization planned for June 2026. Key interconnection projects include the 330 kV Ghana-Ivory Coast reinforcement – advanced through a high-level meeting in June 2025 – and the WAPP Median Backbone linking Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana and Ivory Coast.
Ivory Coast targets a 45% renewable share in its energy mix by 2030, including 33% hydropower and 12% solar and biomass. Major developments include the 112 MW Gribo-Popoli hydro plant commissioned in May 2025; a 50 MW solar plant at Katiola scheduled for 2026; construction of a 50 MW Bondoukou launched in February 2025; and June 2025 tenders for two 100 MW solar PV plants, each equipped with 33 MWh of storage. Biomass expansion continues with multiple projects in planning and procurement, among them a 46 MW palm-waste-to-power plant.
“Minister Mamadou Sangafowa-Coulibaly’s participation at this year’s conference underscores Ivory Coast’s rising influence in West Africa’s energy landscape and the strategic value of its fast-advancing oil, gas and power sectors. His engagement at MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2025 will provide investors critical insight into one of the region’s most dynamic growth markets,” states Sandra Jeque, Events and Project Director, Energy Capital & Power.