The second International Exhibition of Extractive and Energy Resources (SIREXE) will take place in Abidjan on November 18–22, 2026. Focused on infrastructure, it will bring together oil, gas, mining and electricity stakeholders around a shared challenge: turning investment ambitions into financed and delivered projects. For Côte d’Ivoire, it comes as hydrocarbon expansion must coexist with ambitious energy-transition and local-content goals.
A program connecting energy and extractive resources
The announced program highlights the scale of choices facing the country. New solar capacity expected by 2030 is estimated at 925 megawatts, while installations planned for 2026 total 42 MW. These figures express a ramp-up target, but must not be read as capacity already connected or guaranteed: delivery depends on financing, construction and grid connection.
Meanwhile, Ivorian oil production is expected to grow with development of the Baleine field, whose medium-term production targets strengthen oil and gas’s economic role. The exhibition will therefore address a practical trade-off: increasing extractive production and revenue while developing electricity sources less exposed to fuel fluctuations and broadening energy access.
The opening conference will feature energy historian and S&P Global executive Daniel Yergin and economist Philippe Chalmin, among others. Their contributions are intended to place regional issues in the context of geopolitical tensions, logistics and international hydrocarbon markets. The debate’s value will lie in linking these global developments with infrastructure decisions and local needs.
Financing delivery after announcements
SIREXE’s first edition in 2024 was associated with nearly CFAF 4 trillion in investment intentions. Two years later, the question is converting them into committed financing, awarded contracts and assets actually built. Capital announcements signal investor interest, but alone reveal neither disbursed funds, credit terms nor physical project progress.
The new SIREXE Invest initiative aims to connect project developers, companies, banks and investors. Its impact will depend on verifiable outcomes: financed projects, deadlines met, local contracts awarded and facilities commissioned. These indicators can distinguish the 2026 edition from a purely institutional showcase.
Côte d’Ivoire also has a Strategic Sovereign Development Fund, created in April 2026 and expected to receive an initial CFAF 100 billion allocation in 2027. The fund is notably intended to convert some natural-resource revenue into long-term investment. This ambition requires precise governance rules, public selection criteria and monitoring of both returns and economic benefits.
Local content: from regulation to contracts
The third issue concerns Ivorian businesses’ place in value chains. The country has strengthened its hydrocarbon local-content framework since 2022 and gradually extended it to mining. Accreditation and rules are a first step; companies’ actual access to contracts, capital, technical skills and partnerships remains the most concrete measure of progress.
Data provided by authorities in 2025 reported 650 accredited Ivorian hydrocarbon companies out of 860 registered. This pool can support services, maintenance, engineering and logistics. Accreditation, however, guarantees neither a contract nor the ability to finance equipment, certifications and working capital required by major projects.
Minister of Mines, Petroleum and Energy Mamadou Sangafowa-Coulibaly summarized the expected shift by calling for a move from setting directions to financing implementation. SIREXE Invest and discussions on small and medium-sized businesses will therefore be judged on connecting regulation, financing and real contracts.
A useful meeting if it makes results visible
SIREXE 2026 comes with a program more clearly structured around infrastructure, transition and local processing. Solar projects, oil investments, mining facilities and power grids nevertheless progress at different speeds. Bringing them together can facilitate partnerships, provided discussions lead to publicly disclosed decisions and schedules.
The exhibition will also have a regional dimension, with Botswana announced as guest country of honor and discussions devoted to African cooperation. Cross-border movement of energy, skills and capital can broaden infrastructure markets, but requires interconnections, compatible rules and enforceable commercial agreements.
For visitors and businesses, the essential questions are simple: which projects have actually reached financial close, what capacity is under construction, what share of contracts goes to local suppliers, and when will new infrastructure deliver its first services? With documented answers, Abidjan can make SIREXE a monitoring tool as well as a meeting place. Ultimately, the event’s credibility will depend on the gap between stated commitments and measurable results after its doors close.