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Eni and Vitol deepen West Africa ties in US$1.65Bn deal
Commodity trader Vitol is taking a stake in Eni’s assets in Cote d’Ivoire and the Republic of Congo
Eni and Vitol have signed a deal that will see Vitol acquire an interest in Eni-owned assets in Cote d’Ivoire and the Republic of Congo.
As listed on 1 January 2024, the deal is worth US$1.65Bn, and a Reuters report valued the deal at some US$2.70Bn when factoring in the "standard cash adjustment at closing". In return for its investment, Vitol will acquire an interest in both oil and gas producing assets and blocks undergoing exploration, appraisal and development.
Specifically, Vitol will acquire a 30.00% participating interest in Eni’s Baleine project in Cote d’Ivoire, where Eni has a 77.25% ownership interest.
In Eni’s Congo LNG project, where the Italian energy company has a 65.00% participating interest, Vitol will acquire a 25.00% participating interest.
Eni and Vitol are already partners in the OCTP and Block 4 projects in Ghana, and the companies said the new agreement deepens and "further consolidates" their co-operation in West Africa.
"This transaction is in line with Eni’s strategy aimed at optimising upstream activities, through a rebalancing of the portfolio that provides for the early valorisation of exploration discoveries through a reduction of participations in them (the so-called dual exploration model). Vitol has had an upstream presence in West Africa region for many years. In addition, it has a portfolio of infrastructure and downstream-related investments."
Eni and Vitol said they will aim to close the deal "as soon as practicable", subject to the usual regulatory approvals.
The Congo LNG project, sanctioned in December 2022, came on stream after just a year, in line with the project’s initial timeline. The project, situated within the Marine XII permit, aims to achieve a plateau gas liquefaction capacity of approximately 4.5 billion cubic metres per annum and will achieve zero flaring from operated activities in the country, according to Eni.
The Italy-headquartered oil and gas major announced the project’s launch in the Republic of Congo in April 2023 with the nation’s president and the company’s chief executive on hand for a cornerstone laying ceremony at the site of the country’s first natural gas liquefaction facility.
Congo LNG will exploit the extensive gas volumes located in the Marine XII block using two floating LNG facilities offshore Congo. The project has two stages centred around FLNGs. In the first stage, the Tango FLNG Eni acquired from Exmar in August 2022 was converted. The FLNG has a capacity to produce 0.6M tonnes per year (mta). Eni said production began in December 2023.
The second phase of the project’s offshore development will position a second FLNG, install eight additional platforms and drill 29 wells. The second FLNG plant is a newbuild which will provide an additional 2.4 mta in gas production, bringing the total production capacity for the project to 3 mta. Eni awarded the building contract for the unit to Wison (Nantong) Heavy Industry shipyard.
Baleine is Eni’s first development in Cote d’Ivoire, and is aiming to be the first net-zero development in Africa, with Eni targeting Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. The Baleine field was discovered in in 2021, and production began in 2023. Current production exceeds 60,000 boe/d; with Phase 3 currently under study, total production is set to reach 150,000 barrels of oil per day and 200 million cubic feet of associated gas, according to Eni. The associated gas is will remain in the country, offering improved access to energy and "strengthening the role of Cote d’Ivoire as a regional energy hub," Eni said.
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