Vaalco Energy has brought oil production back online at the Baobab field on the CI-40 block offshore Côte d’Ivoire after finishing refurbishment work on the Baobab Ivoirien floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel.
The company reported that the FPSO returned to location early in the second quarter of 2026 following nine months of refurbishment work in Dubai.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
After it was remoored and reconnected to existing field infrastructure, four wells are producing, with three more expected to restart soon.
Vaalco Energy said production is performing in line with its expectations.
The project remains on schedule after hydrocarbon operations at the Baobab field stopped in January 2025 to allow the FPSO to undergo necessary upgrades.
The purpose of the refurbishment was to extend the FPSO’s operational lifespan and support the upcoming development drilling programme at Baobab, which is scheduled for the second half of 2026.
This phase five programme is set to include four new producing wells, two or three injectors, and two workovers, which could provide significant additions to overall field output.
Vaalco Energy CEO George Maxwell said: “We are excited that the Baobab field on the CI-40 block offshore Côte d’Ivoire has restarted production in line with our projected timeline. We have the CI-40 block licence extended through 2038 and believe that there is significant development drilling upside at Baobab.
“In early 2024, we had no assets in Côte d’Ivoire and now we have developed a strong position with development and exploration potential. We are at a critical junction, with successes in the Gabon drilling campaign and the Baobab field returning to production, and we believe that the remainder of 2026 will be very impactful.
“We remain focused on execution and driving meaningful growth through our organic capital programmes that we believe will translate into value for our shareholders in 2026 and beyond.”
The Baobab field is situated approximately 25km off the coast of Côte d’Ivoire in water depths ranging from 900m to 1,300m.
Discovered in March 2001, the field has estimated reserves of 700 million barrels (mbbl) of oil, with recoverable reserves estimated at 200mbbl at 23° API.
Baobab is part of the Côte d’Ivoire sedimentary basin of Lower Cretaceous age, extending across a deep canyon in the basin.
In February 2026, Vaalco Energy secured a 60% operational stake in the offshore Kossipo field in Cote d’Ivoire, with PetroCI retaining the remaining 40% interest.
