Chinese shipyard to build 90,000-bpd production vessel for one of West Africa's largest offshore oil developments

One of West Africa's largest offshore oil developments is set to receive a major boost after Altera Infrastructure secured a contract to deliver a giant 90,000-bpd oil production vessel for Eni's Baleine Phase 3 project offshore Côte d'Ivoire, with construction taking place in China.

• Altera Infrastructure secured a contract to deliver a new FPSO vessel for Eni's Baleine Phase 3 offshore project in Côte d'Ivoire.
• The FPSO will have the capacity to produce 90,000 barrels of oil and process 160 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.
• Once completed, the vessel will be transported from China to serve as the central production hub at the Baleine oil field.
• The Baleine project, Côte d'Ivoire's largest-ever hydrocarbon discovery, will boost national oil and gas output and supply domestic energy needs.

Under the agreement, Chinese engineering company Wison New Energies will build a new floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel capable of producing 90,000 barrels of oil per day, processing 160 million standard cubic feet of natural gas daily, and storing 1.4 million barrels of crude oil.

Once completed, the vessel will be transported from China to the Baleine field, about 70 kilometres off Côte d'Ivoire's coast, where it will serve as the centrepiece of the project's final development phase.

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The contract follows the final investment decision (FID) for Baleine Phase 3, which is being developed by Eni alongside Côte d'Ivoire's national oil company PETROCI and global energy trader Vitol.

Powering Côte d'Ivoire's largest-ever oil discovery

Discovered by Eni in 2021, Baleine is the largest hydrocarbon discovery ever made in Côte d'Ivoire and one of the most significant offshore oil finds in West Africa in recent years.

The project has been developed in phases to accelerate production.

While the first phase began producing in 2023 and Phase 2 expanded output in 2024, the latest expansion is expected to increase total production to 150,000 barrels of oil per day and 200 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, cementing Côte d'Ivoire's position as one of Africa's fastest-growing oil producers.

Eni has said all natural gas produced from Baleine will be supplied to Côte d'Ivoire's domestic market to support electricity generation, industrial development and energy security.

A multi-billion-dollar investment with China at its centre

Although Altera Infrastructure, Eni and Wison New Energies have not disclosed the financial value of the FPSO contract, industry estimates put the broader Baleine Phase 3 development at between $2.5 billion and $4 billion, with the production vessel accounting for the largest share of the investment.

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Rather than purchasing the vessel outright, Eni will lease it from Altera under a 15-year bareboat charter.

Under this arrangement, Altera will finance, own and deliver the vessel, recovering its investment through long-term charter payments while Eni focuses its capital on developing the offshore field.

The deal also highlights China's expanding role in Africa's offshore energy industry. By constructing the project's largest asset, Wison New Energies further strengthens China's position as a leading builder of complex offshore production systems for major energy developments across the continent.