VAALCO Restarts Baobab Field After FPSO Refurbishment
The company says the upgraded FPSO extends the vessel’s operating life and will support a planned Phase 5 drilling campaign in the second half of 2026.
Overview
- VAALCO announced Tuesday that production has resumed at the Baobab field on the CI-40 block offshore Côte d’Ivoire, with four wells currently producing and three additional producers expected online shortly.
- The Baobab Ivoirien FPSO stopped hydrocarbon operations in January 2025, underwent a nine-month refurbishment in Dubai, and returned to Côte d’Ivoire in early Q2 2026 to be moored and reconnected to field infrastructure.
- Company statements say the field is performing in line with expectations and that the FPSO work was aimed at extending the vessel’s life to enable multi-year development.
- VAALCO plans a Phase 5 development program in H2 2026 that it describes as likely to include four new producers, two to three injectors and two workovers, though the program remains in the planning stage and is forward-looking.
- The CI-40 license has been extended through 2038, giving VAALCO a longer development window and underpinning its 2026 growth narrative, but the company’s updates are from its own press releases and carry execution and market risks.