Côte d'Ivoire.

The country today

Côte d'Ivoire has a population of around 31 million and a GDP that has grown at well above the regional average for more than a decade. Abidjan is the de facto economic capital of francophone West Africa, with the regional headquarters of the African Development Bank, most of the West African operations of the international banks and a deep professional-services bench. Cocoa exports anchor the trade account; the country produces roughly 40 percent of the world's beans. The Ouattara administration has kept the macro discipline that defined the post-2011 reconstruction and the Mahama-era macro turbulence in Ghana has, by contrast, reinforced Abidjan's regional centrality.

For a Norwegian principal, Côte d'Ivoire is two stories. Upstream, Baleine has turned a quiet shelf into the most-watched gas-condensate development in the Gulf of Guinea. Adjacent, the port, the cocoa value chain and the aquaculture/fisheries opportunity around the Ebrié lagoon are real but secondary.

Energy — oil and gas

Eni's Baleine discovery in Block CI-101, announced in 2021 and brought onstream at speed, is the anchor. Phase 1 used a converted FPSO and reached first oil in record time for the basin; Phase 2 expanded capacity and Phase 3 is being progressed. The reservoir is a clean Cenomanian sandstone with associated gas that lands ashore for power generation — a rare West African case where domestic gas demand is real and the molecule has a near-term home. Calao, a second Eni discovery on the same trend, has extended the play.

Beyond Eni, Murphy Oil operates several blocks; Vaalco (post-Svenska acquisition) has interests in Block CI-705. Petroci is the state company and holds carried interests across the producing portfolio. Fiscal terms are PSC-based and considered competitive by regional standards; the Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Energy is a workable regulator.

For a completion-technology principal the immediate question is whether Baleine's drilling sequence opens a window for foreign vendors. Eni runs most of its completions through its long-standing service-company relationships, but the gas-condensate handling, sand-control completion design and the planned subsea tie-back work generate a steady, if not large, addressable spend. Murphy's exploration-led portfolio is a smaller but more accessible buyer.

The blue economy

The Ebrié lagoon and the broader Ivorian coast support an artisanal fishery that lands the bulk of domestic catch, with industrial tuna landings concentrated at Abidjan and Locodjro. The country imports a very large share of the fish it consumes; the deficit is a structural feature of the regional protein market. Aquaculture — tilapia and African catfish in ponds and lagoon cages — is growing from a small base, with government and donor support concentrated on hatchery improvements and feed.

The Port of Abidjan is one of the largest container ports in West Africa and the second container terminal (TC2) operated by Bolloré/MSC has added meaningful capacity. Cocoa, cashew and rubber exports anchor the port's volume. Port digitisation and customs modernisation are credible Saga adjacent themes.

The Norwegian–Ivorian corridor

Norway maintains an embassy in Abidjan that also covers several neighbouring francophone markets, with consular and commercial diplomacy aimed at a small but growing Norwegian commercial footprint. Yara is the most visible Norwegian commercial presence through fertiliser distribution into the cocoa and cashew value chains. There is no Equinor operating footprint. NABA and Innovation Norway run West Africa programming that touches Abidjan, and the Norwegian-African Business Association has been increasingly active around the African Development Bank annual meetings, which Abidjan hosts most years.

For a Norwegian principal the practical introductions run through the embassy, the AfDB ecosystem and — for upstream — through Eni's London and Milan networks rather than through any Nordic operator presence in-country.

What Saga sees

Baleine is the headline play and the right reason for a Norwegian completions, sand-control or subsea principal to put Abidjan on the calendar. The realistic point of entry is as a specialty vendor into Eni's drilling programme or as a subsea tie-back partner on Phase 3 and follow-on satellites. Murphy and Vaalco are smaller but more accessible buyers. Adjacent, the port-digitisation and cocoa-traceability themes connect to the wider Saga trade-and-logistics thesis, with the AfDB as a natural co-investor.

The macro risk is political-cycle related; the 2025 election cycle was managed without the disruption some had feared, and the Ouattara succession question is the variable to watch over the next 24 months. Currency risk is muted given the CFA peg.

How we work in Côte d'Ivoire

Saga does not maintain a permanent office in Abidjan. We work the market on a case-by-case basis, coordinated from Cape Town, with introductions through the Norwegian embassy in Abidjan, the AfDB network and Eni's regional industry contacts. For a Norwegian principal we provide market-entry strategy, technical diligence on Petroci and the operating consortia, and deal structuring for upstream and port-adjacent opportunities.

At a glance

• Population: ~31 million
• Hydrocarbons: Oil and associated gas; Baleine as the anchor; growing exploration on the shelf
• Principal NOC: Petroci
• Norwegian footprint: Embassy Abidjan (regional accreditation) · Yara fertiliser distribution · AfDB and NABA networks
• Saga focus areas: Baleine sand-control and subsea tie-back work · Murphy/Vaalco shelf completions · Port of Abidjan digitisation · Cocoa and cashew traceability