Cote d'Ivoire Doubles Gas Output

Cote d’Ivoire’s natural gas production output more than doubled to 216mn ft³/d last year, from 100mn ft³/d in 2016, according to a May 11 report in Jeune Afrique citing the country’s minister of power and renewable energy development Thierry Tanoh.  Maintenance work on the main Ivoirian gas fields, Espoir and Baobab, was completed in the first nine months of 2017; now both are operating at full production. 

Gas production is assured by Canadian Natural Resources (CNR) which operates both the above-named fields and blocks CI-26 and CI-40, state producer Petroci which operates CI-11, and Bouygues subsidiary Foxtrot which operates CI-27. The government recently awarded 14 exploration licenses to various players, and talks are underway with Foxtrot and Gazelle to operate CI-202 block, offshore Grand-Bassam.

Tanoh said the increased gas output would help supply Cote d’Ivoire’s three thermal power plants, belonging to Azito (440 MW), Ciprel (556 MW) and Aggreko (556 MW) which supply more than 80% of the country’s power; about 15% of their output is exported to neighbours like Ghana.

A further development in Cote d'Ivoire’s gas sector is the upcoming construction of a joint venture LNG import terminal with 4.15 bn m³/yr (3mn mt/yr) regas capacity, to be operated by Total.