CAPITAL: ABIDJAN
MONETARY UNIT: CFA FRANC
REFINING CAPACITY: 65,200 B/CD
OIL PRODUCTION: 19,300 B/D
OIL RESERVES: 100 MILLION BBL
GAS RESERVES: 1.05 TCF

Ivory Coast asked Nigeria to supply it with 20,000-30,000 b/d of crude oil and was also seeking help in obtaining natural gas to feed its power plants.

Nigeria responded that it was interested in regional cooperation and that it had formerly shipped vacuum gas oil and naphtha to Ivory Coast without cost in return for other petroleum products Nigeria purchased from the Abidjan refinery.

Ivory Coast was poised to import gas from Nigeria via the proposed West African Gas Pipeline project, but other West African countries were balking at buying gas from the line and no progress was reported as of the end of 2000.

Some companies remained interested in deepwater exploration off Ivory Coast even though the country's first deepwater wildcat failed.

Ocean Energy Inc., operator, in 1999 abandoned East Grand Lahou-1 in 1,500 m of water on Block CI-105 about 140 km southwest of Abidjan. TD was 11,785 ft. Interests were Ocean 35%, a Shell unit 55%, and state Petroci 10%.

At yearend 2000 Vanco Energy Co., Houston, held blocks CI-109 and CI-112 for a combined 2.3 million acres in 200-3,000 m of water. It said CI-112 holds a large Albian structure with evidence of closure, source, reservoir, and trapping and that further potential is recognized in Late Cretaceous sands stratigraphically trapped on the flanks of the Albian structural trend.

Lion oil field and Panthere gas and condensate field were producing offshore. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., which acquired Ranger Oil Ltd. during the year, hoped to resume oil and gas production from Espoir field in 2001 or 2002.