Eni has commenced drilling the first appraisal well on its Calao discovery offshore Ivory Coast, utilizing the Saipem drillship Santorini, which arrived on location around January 10. This follows the March 2024 announcement that the Calao discovery holds potential resources of up to 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent, including significant gas volumes. The company's strategy, as previously stated, is to complete the ongoing Phase 3 development of the Baleine field before ramping up major activity on Calao, with a final investment decision for Baleine Phase 3 expected this year.

Stake Sale in Baleine Field

Concurrently, Eni has agreed to sell a 10% participating interest in the Baleine field to Azerbaijan's state oil company, Socar. Following this transaction, Eni's stake in the field will be reduced to 47.25%, though it will remain the operator. This agreement is part of a wider collaboration between Eni and Socar, building upon three memoranda of understanding signed in 2024, one of which focused on expanding cooperation in hydrocarbon exploration and production.