Côte d’Ivoire seeks more than $10 billion to accelerate its energy expansion

At African Energy Week 2026, Abidjan presented an ambition extending beyond the development of new fields alone: mobilising more than $10 billion by 2030 to strengthen its entire energy chain. Exploration, production, gas processing, storage, refining and logistics feature in the same portfolio. The challenge will be to turn this list of opportunities into financed, connected projects capable of meeting domestic demand and neighbouring markets' needs.

Karim Coulibaly, deputy managing director of Petroci Holding, highlighted resources already identified and infrastructure to be built. For investors, Côte d’Ivoire seeks to position itself as a market where producing assets, projects under development and logistical needs can complement one another. This integrated approach can strengthen the viability of some investments, but requires close coordination among the state, operators, public companies and financial partners.

Opportunities from exploration to infrastructure

In the upstream sector, the Calao and Calao Sud developments, alongside partnership opportunities in Blocks CI-523 and CI-525, represent the main growth priorities presented. An operatorship opportunity in Block CI-26 could also open the door to a new operator. These projects lie in a basin where recent discoveries have revived company interest, but development will depend on data quality, contractual terms and the ability to connect new resources to existing infrastructure.

Petroci is also seeking partners in gas pipelines, gas processing, liquefied natural gas facilities, power generation and LPG storage and distribution chains. The aim is to make gas a resource used across several markets: electricity generation, industry, petrochemicals and, if capacity permits, exports. Infrastructure designed for several markets can better withstand market cycles, provided supply and offtake contracts are strong enough to secure revenues.

The third phase of the Baleine field illustrates this connection. The project, operated by Eni with Petroci and Vitol, received final investment approval in May 2026. The announced target is peak capacity of 150,000 barrels of oil per day and 200 million cubic feet of gas daily. This ramp-up would make Baleine a pillar of national supply. It also increases the need to plan gas processing, evacuation and use so that additional production leads to revenues and local capabilities rather than being constrained by bottlenecks.

Storage and refining: links requiring financing

Expansion is not limited to extraction. Gestoci, the public company responsible for petroleum product stocks and depots, is preparing 40,000-cubic-metre facilities at Odienné and San Pedro, alongside rehabilitation of the Bouaké depot. Decentralising storage capacity can reduce supply lead times and bring products closer to consumers. It can also support trade with neighbouring landlocked countries if road connections and transit rules keep pace.

A second refinery is envisaged at San Pedro, with announced capacity of 170,000 barrels per day. Its estimated cost of between $5 billion and $7 billion would make it a major but demanding project. Profitability will depend on crude availability, financing costs, regional market access and the ability to sell a range of products meeting standards. The existing facility, Société ivoirienne de raffinage, must also balance increased volumes, fuel quality and environmental requirements.

The next step: making projects bankable

Announcing investment needs of more than $10 billion indicates the scale of ambition, but not yet the financing actually committed. Partners will expect credible schedules, offtake contracts, cost visibility and a clear allocation of risks. Customer commitments will be decisive for gas infrastructure and depots; financing structure and feedstock supply will be decisive for the refinery.

Côte d’Ivoire has an advantage: several projects can draw on existing assets, growing regional demand and experience already gained in hydrocarbons and refining. Growth potential is real, but the economic effect will depend on the share of value retained locally, skills training, participation by Ivorian businesses and reliable energy access for industry.

The roadmap presented in Cape Town thus outlines a step change in scale. To deliver it, Abidjan will need to align production with the development of networks, processing capacity and commercial markets. Only then can the announced investments become a more resilient energy system and a driver of regional industrialisation.