Tullow Oil takes on four licences in Cote d'Ivoire

The FTSE 250 firm said Petroci - the national oil company of Côte d'Ivoire - held the remaining 10%.

It said the four blocks - CI 518, CI519, CI301 and CI302 - covered 5,035 square kilometres, and were located on the coastline of Côte d'Ivoire, mostly to the west of Abidjan.

Tullow said it believes that the acreage would complement its existing exploration portfolio, as the blocks were located in a “proven” petroleum system, indicated by multiple oil seeps and past production from the Eboinda Oil Sands.

If commercial discoveries were made, the maturity of Côte d'Ivoire's oil industry suggested a “relatively short and low-cost” path to production, the company’s board noted.

Tullow said it intended to initiate work immediately on the licences to allow a full tensor gradiometry survey to start in early 2018.

That early survey data would be used to assess the potential of the licenses and guide future acquisition of seismic data.

“I am very pleased to have signed the licences for these blocks and look forward to exploring again in Côte d'Ivoire,” said Tullow chief executive Paul McDade.

“We have a long history in Côte d'Ivoire having been in country since 1997 and I am excited about the potential that these blocks, with their proven petroleum system, offer.”

Tullow has worked in Côte d'Ivoire for 20 years - both as an explorer and as a producer - and holds a non-operated position in the Espoir field which produces approximately 4,000 bopd net to Tullow.