• Civette-1X encountered hydrocarbons but volumes fell below economic thresholds

• Results confirm an active petroleum system in offshore block CI-502

• Well is part of a three-well exploration program

Murphy Oil Corporation said on January 19 its first offshore exploration well in Côte d’Ivoire did not result in a commercially viable discovery. The well, Civette-1X, drilled in offshore block CI-502, encountered hydrocarbons, but in quantities insufficient to support an industrial development.

The U.S. oil company said the outcome nonetheless confirms the presence of an active petroleum system in the targeted area. Civette-1X was drilled in deep water to a total depth of about 4,250 meters, on a geological structure identified as prospective based on earlier seismic interpretation.

The well forms part of a three-well offshore exploration campaign launched by Murphy in Côte d’Ivoire. The program followed several months of preparatory work, including 3D seismic surveys and the identification of multiple exploration targets across the company’s acreage.

At the start of the campaign in early December 2025, Ecofin Agency reported that Murphy had mobilized the deepwater drilling vessel Deepwater Skyros to carry out the operations, marking the group’s operational entry into the Ivorian offshore.

Following the Civette-1X results, Murphy said the data collected during drilling will be integrated into its regional geological model to refine the evaluation of other prospects within its Ivorian blocks. The company did not indicate whether another well would be drilled in the same area in the near term.

The outcome comes as Côte d’Ivoire has recorded several major offshore hydrocarbon discoveries in recent years, notably the Baleine and Calao fields operated by Italy’s Eni and identified in 2021 and 2022.

Murphy Oil holds a 90% interest in block CI-502, alongside the state-owned company PETROCI.

Abdel-Latif Boureima