BAKU/MILAN - Azerbaijan's state oil and gas ‍company SOCAR ‍has signed an agreement with Italy's Eni to ​acquire a 10% stake in the Baleine offshore ⁠oil and gas field in the Ivory Coast, the two ⁠companies said ‌on Thursday.

The transaction represents SOCAR's entry to Africa's oil and gas resources and aligns strategically ⁠with its global expansion vision, the Azerbaijani group said.

The transaction is part of Eni's strategy of monetizing exploration discoveries through the divestment of equity ⁠stakes, the Italian energy group ​said in a separate statement.

Baleine is the Ivorian main offshore ‍development operated by Eni, which has a 47.25% stake in ​the field, with minority stakes held by commodity trader Vitol and the Ivory Coast's national oil company Petroci.

The field currently produces over 62,000 barrels of oil and more than 75 million cubic feet of gas per day.

The deal also forms part of a broader strategic collaboration between SOCAR and Eni which focuses on ⁠hydrocarbon exploration and production, as well ‌as greenhouse gas emissions reduction and the biofuel production chain.

(Reporting by Nailia Bagirova in Baku ‌and Francesca ⁠Landini in Milan; Writing by Felix Light and Francesca Landini; ⁠Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Alvise Armellini)