Murphy Oil discovers light oil at Bubale-1X offshore Côte d'Ivoire

(WO) — Murphy Oil Corp. has announced an oil discovery at the Bubale-1X exploration well in Block CI-709 offshore Côte d'Ivoire, encountering 100 ft (30 m) of net oil pay across two reservoirs. 

The well was drilled approximately 40 mi offshore Côte d'Ivoire to a total depth of 20,548 ft (6,263 m) in 7,795 ft (2,376 m) of water. Preliminary evaluation indicates the discovery contains high-quality light oil.

"Early results at Bubale reinforce the prospectivity of our Côte d'Ivoire acreage," said Eric Hambly, President and Chief Executive Officer of Murphy Oil. "We are pleased with the results to date, which underscore the value of a disciplined and consistent exploration approach. Our immediate focus now is advancing evaluation plans to define the discovery's full potential."

Bubale-1X marks the third and final well in Murphy's current three-well exploration campaign offshore Côte d'Ivoire. Following the discovery, the company plans to move into the next phase of evaluation, including an additional well scheduled for the second half of 2026 to further assess the extent of the accumulation.

The well was spud in late February by Murphy CI-709 Oil Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Murphy Oil and operator of Block CI-709. Murphy holds a 90% working interest in the block, while Côte d'Ivoire's national oil company, PETROCI, holds the remaining 10%.

The discovery adds to growing exploration activity offshore Côte d'Ivoire, where operators continue to target deepwater prospects along the West African margin amid increasing industry interest in the region's emerging upstream opportunities.