During June 2018, a new company named Dragon Oil (registered in Nigeria and Cote dâIvoire) was awarded coastal block CI-24. The company (not to be mistaken with Dubai-based Dragon Oil Ltd) not only intends to re-develop and bring back the Belier oil field into production, but also has plans to explore the surrounding areas and develop the gas reserves in the block.   Belier is the first commercial discovery and the first field to come onstream in Cote d'Ivoire. ExxonMobil (Esso) produced almost 20 MMbbl of oil for 12 years from the Belier field, before abandonment in 1992. Two other discoveries were made in the mid-1970s, but never developed (Ivco 6 and Ivco 8).  The 839 sq km block CI-24 is located offshore Abidjan. The northern limit of the block is the coastline and it adjoins to the east Vitolâs block CI-202. Water depth varies from 0 m in the north to 1,500 m in the southwest corner of the tract.
Ministry of Energy awards 9 blocks from 11 E&P blocks proposed for the last auction that took place on 27 June 2018.