Eni has announced a significant gas and condensate discovery at its Murene South-1X well in Block CI-501 offshore Côte d’Ivoire, confirming the broader potential of the Calao channel complex and marking one of the country’s largest hydrocarbon finds to date.
The Italian energy major said the Murene South-1X well encountered high-quality Cenomanian reservoir sands containing an estimated 5.0 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas and up to 450 million barrels of condensate, equivalent to roughly 1.4 billion barrels of oil equivalent in place. The discovery, dubbed Calao South, is the second-largest ever recorded in Côte d’Ivoire after the Baleine field.
Drilled to a total depth of around 5,000 meters in 2,200 meters of water by the Saipem Santorini drillship, the Murene South-1X well confirmed approximately 50 meters of gross hydrocarbon-bearing interval with what Eni described as excellent petrophysical characteristics. A full drill stem test (DST) is planned to evaluate deliverability and production capacity.
Block CI-501 is operated by Eni with a 90% stake, alongside state partner Petroci Holding, which holds 10%. The well lies roughly 8 kilometers southwest of the earlier Murene-1X discovery in adjacent Block CI-205, reinforcing the prospectivity of the broader Calao channel system.
The find further consolidates Eni’s position as the dominant upstream player in Côte d’Ivoire, where it has been active since 2015. The company now holds interests in ten blocks across the country, including CI-205, CI-504, CI-526, CI-706, CI-707, CI-708, CI-401, CI-801, CI-802, and the Baleine area, some in partnership with Petroci Holding, Vitol, and SOCAR.
The discovery builds on the momentum of the Baleine field, currently the cornerstone of Côte d’Ivoire’s offshore production. Baleine is producing more than 62,000 barrels of oil per day and over 75 million cubic feet of gas per day from its first two development phases. With Phase 3 slated to lift output to 150,000 barrels per day and 200 MMcf/d of gas, Baleine is rapidly evolving into a regional energy hub aimed at meeting rising domestic demand.
Calao South’s scale could significantly extend that trajectory. With multi-trillion-cubic-foot gas resources and substantial liquids content, the discovery strengthens Côte d’Ivoire’s role as an emerging West African gas province at a time when European and global markets remain focused on supply diversification and energy security.
For Eni, the result underscores its strategy of leveraging geological continuity and infrastructure synergies in high-impact basins. The proximity of Calao South to existing discoveries and infrastructure could accelerate appraisal and potential tie-back development, reducing breakeven costs and improving project economics.
The broader West African offshore sector has seen renewed investor interest amid stable fiscal regimes and competitive development costs relative to other deepwater provinces. Eni’s latest success reinforces the region’s geological potential, particularly within Cretaceous channel complexes that have yielded multiple large-scale finds.