Bucket C, project economics: Wison New Energies cut the first steel for the Baleine Phase 3 FPSO hull on August 30. The yard milestone moves Eni’s Côte d’Ivoire expansion from planning into physical construction.
The new vessel will measure about 308 meters long and is designed for at least 20 years of service in water depths from roughly 800 to 1,200 meters. It will be able to process about 90,000 barrels of oil, 160 million standard cubic feet of gas and 80,000 barrels of produced water per day, with storage for around 1.4 million barrels of crude.
Eni, Petroci and Vitol approved the roughly $4 billion third phase in May 2026. Wison holds the engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning role with Eni and Altera Infrastructure, while SLB OneSubsea, TechnipFMC and Saipem are handling major subsea, flowline and pipeline packages for 13 wells.
Baleine is expected to reach about 150,000 barrels of oil and 200 million cubic feet of gas per day when fully developed. The scale of the FPSO and subsea work shows how Côte d’Ivoire is using phased offshore investment to expand crude output while directing more gas toward domestic power and industry.