Côte d’Ivoire: Azonto gives up on Gazelle

Azonto Petroleum has agreed to sell its 35% stake in Vioco Petroleum to joint-venture partner Vitol, which holds the other 65 percent. Faced with delays and cost increases to the planned Gazelle gas field development, Azonto said it had concluded that a sale was the best way to realise value from its stake in Block CI-202. It said selling up now saved it from committing to a work programme that it could not finance, and that it could potentially consider alternative asset acquisitions.