Murphy Oil has signed up to explore five blocks offshore Cote d’Ivoire, with four of those licences in the deepwater.
© Supplied by Ministry of Mines, PThe US company signed production-sharing contracts (PSCs) on the CI-102, CI-103, CI-502, CI-531 and CI-709 areas on June 14. Murphy Exploration & Production and Petroci hold the licences.
Cote d’Ivoire Minister of Mines, Petroleum and Energy Mamadou Sangafowa-Coulibaly welcomed the signing, saying he had high hopes for Murphy’s work.
Sangafowa-Coulibaly was quoted in the local media as saying the offshore basin had provided two major oil discoveries, in September 2021 and July 2022.
“We have to go fast because we need energy. We place a lot of hope in this signature and President Alassane Ouattara is waiting for another oil discovery,” he said.
Murphy executive vice president for operations Eric Hambly said the company intended to “accomplish great things” in Cote d’Ivoire.
Just over half of Murphy’s production comes from the offshore. It principally focuses in North America, although it does have some assets in South America and Vietnam.
Murphy was previously involved in West Africa but pulled out amid a refocusing on domestic US opportunities, particularly in the Eagle Ford shale and Gulf of Mexico. It also sold off its Malaysian assets in 2019.
The company has not responded to requests for comment on the deal.
In progress
On LinkedIn, Enverus regional manager Jimmy Boulter said the negotiations on the PSCs had been under way since the third quarter of 2022. He said Murphy had likely taken a 90% stake in the blocks, while Petroci has the remaining 10%.
Boulter said the Murphy acreage was underexplored and that it was to the west of Eni’s Baleine discovery. He predicted Murphy would seek partners as it moves into exploration in Cote d’Ivoire.
Cote d’Ivoire is attracting increasing interest, following the Baleine find. In December 2022, Tullow Oil signed a PSC for CI-803, in the Tano Basin, near its Ghanaian fields.
