Ivory Coast sees '08 oil output at 80,000 bpd

By Daniel Magnowski

LONDON (Reuters) - Ivory Coast expects its crude oil production to rise to 80,000 barrels per day in 2008 from 48,370 last year, its mining and energy minister said on Monday.

The West African nation hopes to benefit from record high prices for oil of more than $106 per barrel on world markets.

"The quantity of oil is small, but there is a positive impact for Ivory Coast," Leon Monnet told Reuters on the sidelines of an investment conference.

"Considering our potential, we hope to reach 300,000 barrels per day by 2015," he said.

Production fell by 27 percent in 2007 as a result of wells being blocked by silt.

The country has yet to begin renegotiating its contracts with producing firms, a step it said in December it intended to take.

"When you consider the price of a barrel today, it is necessary to sit down with our partners and renegotiate everything," Monnet said.

"Negotiations have not started yet but for sure they will be tough," he said, adding that the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the firms which have oil deals with the government, all agreed in principle that contracts should be re-drafted to take account of high prices.

Companies involved in the small Ivorian oil industry include Canadian Natural Resources and London-listed explorer Afren, which earlier this month said it had agreed to buy Deven Energy Corp's oil interests in Ivory Coast for $205 million.

MINING INVESTMENT

Ivory Coast is also seeking investment in its mining sector as it tries to take advantage of metals prices that are, like oil, at or near all-time peaks, driven in part by strong demand for raw materials from China and India.

Indian firm Tata Steel said late last year it would invest between $1 billion and $2 billion to develop an iron ore mine, in conjunction with state-owned mining firm SODEMI.

Monnet also said it was in discussions with mining major Xstrata about developing a nickel deposit, but no contract has been signed.

"We have world-class potential for iron and nickel," the minister said. "We are in the negotiation process."

The government hopes talks regarding the country's iron ore and nickel deposits will be concluded by the end of this year, Monnet said.

Reporting by Daniel Magnowski, editing by William Hardy)