Italy’s Eni has signed a binding agreement to sell a 10% stake in the Baleine offshore oil and gas project in Côte d’Ivoire to SOCAR, the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The deal reduces Eni’s operating stake to 37.25% while leaving it as project operator. Vitol retains a 30% interest and Côte d’Ivoire’s state oil company Petroci holds 22.75%. The transaction aligns with Eni’s so-called “dual exploration model,” under which the company accelerates the monetization of major discoveries by ...