Viridien has commenced CDI25, the second phase of its multi-client seismic reimaging programme covering 6,555 km² in the Tano Basin, offshore Côte d'Ivoire. The campaign is designed to deliver a drill-ready dataset for operators and investors evaluating the basin's hydrocarbon potential, building on earlier acquisition work that has already begun reshaping understanding of the play fairways in this part of the West African transform margin.
The Tano Basin straddles the maritime boundary between Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana and has attracted sustained operator interest following Ghana's prolific Jubilee and TEN field discoveries on the Ghanaian side of the basin. Côte d'Ivoire's acreage has historically been underexplored relative to its neighbour, but improving seismic resolution and updated geological models are now making the frontier blocks considerably more investable. Viridien's reimaging work applies modern processing algorithms to existing and newly acquired data, reducing technical risk without the full cost burden of a greenfield 3D survey.
The CDI25 programme is structured as a multi-client product, meaning processed data will be licensed to multiple E&P companies simultaneously. This commercial model accelerates data availability across the industry and typically precedes a round of licence awards or farm-in activity as operators use the improved imaging to rank prospects and sanction wells. For Côte d'Ivoire, which has been working to revitalise its upstream sector after years of modest activity, a credible drill-ready dataset is a prerequisite for attracting the tier-one operators needed to fund deepwater appraisal campaigns.
Norwegian service companies should treat CDI25 as an early-cycle signal. Seismic reimaging campaigns of this scale and ambition generally precede drilling decisions by eighteen to thirty-six months. If the dataset confirms commercial-scale prospects, licence rounds and subsequent well programmes become realistic within a two-to-four year horizon. The Tano Basin's deepwater setting and the West African region's established FPSO culture make this a natural fit for Norwegian subsea, well services, and floating production capabilities. Companies that engage now — through data licensing, relationship-building with Viridien and prospective operatorss, and monitoring Ivorian petroleum authority communications — will be better positioned when drilling commitments materialise.
Côte d'Ivoire's regulatory environment has shown increasing openness to foreign investment, and the government has been actively promoting its offshore blocks in international forums. A successful CDI25 result could catalyse a formal licensing round, potentially in 2026 or 2027, that would bring new operators into the basin and trigger the subsurface-to-surface service demand chain that Norwegian companies are well equipped to serve.