• Murphy Oil is drilling the Bubale-1X well in offshore block CI-709.
• The company may move forward with development around the Paon prospect if the well is successful.
• Results from the well, expected next month, will help determine the next phase of exploration.

Murphy Oil is continuing its exploration campaign offshore Côte d’Ivoire with the drilling of the Bubale-1X well in block CI-709.

According to industry outlet Upstream Online, the American company is counting on the outcome of this well to decide whether to move ahead with development around the Paon prospect.

Murphy had previously considered submitting a field development plan for the discovery last year. However, the company now appears to be linking any development decision in the area to the results of the current drilling.

Bubale-1X is the third well in Murphy’s exploration campaign in Côte d’Ivoire’s offshore basin. The first two wells drilled as part of the program — Civette-1X in block CI-502 and Caracal-1X in block CI-102 — encountered signs of hydrocarbons but did not confirm volumes considered commercially viable.

Still, the results helped confirm the presence of an active petroleum system in the area, as previously reported in February 2026.

Murphy Oil operates several deepwater exploration licenses offshore Côte d’Ivoire in partnership with the national oil company PETROCI Holding. In the country, the U.S. company holds stakes ranging from 85% to 90% in five blocks located in the Tano Basin.

The current exploration campaign forms part of a broader strategy to better assess the oil potential of the basin. According to Rigzone, Murphy Oil could eventually connect multiple discoveries in the area to shared production infrastructure if sufficient volumes are confirmed.

The Bubale-1X well is also expected to provide new geological data on the reservoirs in the area, helping refine resource estimates and guide the next steps in Murphy’s exploration program.

Results from the well are expected next month.

Abdel-Latif Boureima