CÔTE D’IVOIRE'S DEEPWATER MOMENTUM: BUBALE-1X EXTENDS EXPLORATION SUCCESS

Summary

Murphy Oil has announced a significant oil discovery at the Bubale-1X exploration well in Block C1-709 offshore Côte d’Ivoire, encountering approximately 100 feet of net oil pay in a deepwater prospect. The discovery follows a series of successful exploration campaigns by Eni and further confirms the prospectivity of the Ivorian deepwater basin. Murphy has indicated that appraisal activities will commence during the second half of 2026, accelerating efforts to determine the commercial scale of the discovery.
The discovery is likely to reinforce investor confidence in Côte d'Ivoire's upstream framework, particularly its fiscal terms and exploration-led licensing strategy approach at a moment when the government is pursuing a goal of 500,000 barrels of oil per day and 1 billion cubic feet per day of gas by 2035, alongside a broader ambition to rank among Africa’s top five hydrocarbon producers.