Latham Advises Ivory Coast Exploration Oil & Gas on Farm-Out Agreement for Block CI-705 Offshore Côte d’Ivoire

Latham & Watkins has advised Ivory Coast Exploration Oil & Gas SAS (ICE) on a farm-out agreement with VAALCO Energy, Inc. (VAALCO), a Houston-based oil and gas operating company, in relation to Block CI-705 offshore Côte d’Ivoire.

Under the terms of the agreement, VAALCO acquired a 70% working interest and a 100% paying interest in Block CI-705 through a commercial carry arrangement and assumed operatorship of the block, partnering with ICE and PETROCI. VAALCO will carry ICE’s retained interest during the exploration phase, through the seismic reprocessing and interpretation stages and potentially drilling up to two exploration wells.

The Latham team was led by London counsel Evelyne Girio, with Paris partner Denis Criton, London partner Clement Fondufe, and associate Daniel Chen.