Côte d’Ivoire has signed a strategic partnership with U.S.-based Yaatra Ventures to develop a second oil refinery, aiming to expand its refined petroleum exports across West Africa. The project, developed in collaboration with the state-owned Société Ivoirienne de Raffinage (SIR), is expected to attract more than CFA 3,000 billion (approximately $5.1 billion) in investment. During the signing ceremony, Energy Minister Mamadou Sangafowa Coulibaly emphasized the country’s ambition to double its refining capacity. Yaatra and SIR