Petroci, the national oil company of Côte d’Ivoire, holds the remaining 10 per cent within the four acquired blocks namely, CI518, CI519, CI301 and CI302, which cover 5,035 square kilometres, located along the coastline of Côte d’Ivoire, mostly to the west of Abidjan.

A release copied to the GNA from the Company said: “Tullow believes that this acreage will complement the Group’s existing exploration portfolio as the blocks are located in a proven petroleum system, indicated by multiple oil seeps and past production from the Eboinda Oil Sands.

“If commercial discoveries are made, the maturity of Côte d’Ivoire’s oil industry suggests a relatively short and low-cost path to production,” it said. It said Tullow intended to initiate work immediately on these licences to allow a full tensor gradiometry (FTG) survey to start in early 2018.

“This early survey data will be used to assess the potential of the licenses and guide future acquisition of seismic data,” the release said. It said Tullow had worked in Côte d’Ivoire for 20 years, both as an explorer and as a producer, and held a non-operated position in the Espoir field, which produced approximately 4,000 bopd net to Tullow.

The release quoted Mr Paul McDade, the Chief Executive Officer of Tullow, Oil plc as saying: “I am very pleased to have signed the licences for these blocks in Abidjan and look forward to exploring again in Côte d’Ivoire. “We have a long history in Côte d’Ivoire having been in the country since 1997 and I am excited about the potential that these blocks, with their proven petroleum system, offer,” he said.

Tullow is a leading independent oil and gas, exploration and production group, quoted on the London, Irish and Ghanaian stock exchanges (symbol: TLW). The Group has interests in more than 80 exploration and production licenses across 17 countries, which are managed as three business delivery teams: West Africa, East Africa and New Ventures.