Eni SpA said this week it has produced the first natural gas and oil from the Baleine field offshore Côte d’Ivoire as the Italian supermajor progresses plans to tap African resources to recover declining natural gas sales volumes.

Eni expects the first phase of Baleine production to reach a max of 15,000 b/d of oil and 25 MMcf/d of associated gas through a recently established floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit. The start of a second phase of production is targeted for the end of 2024, which could grow production to 50,000 b/d of oil and 70 MMcf/d of gas. A third planned development phase could increase production to 150,000 b/d and 200 MMcf/d.

CEO Claudio Descalzi said the development’s accelerated path from disclosing a commercial discovery two years...