Cameroon’s state hydrocarbons company Société Nationale des Hydrocarbures has awarded five oil and gas exploration blocks out of the nine on offer in its 2025–2026 licensing round, with Murphy West Africa and Octavia Energy Corporation emerging as the winning bidders after a competitive evaluation process.
Murphy West Africa secured four blocks in the Douala–Kribi–Campo basin — covering the Etinde Exploration, Tilapia, Elombo, and Ntem areas — a strategically important offshore and coastal region known for its existing infrastructure, previous hydrocarbon discoveries, and significant gas potential that remains less explored than Cameroon’s traditional production heartland. Octavia Energy Corporation was awarded the Bolongo Exploration Block in the Rio del Rey Basin, a mature producing area that continues to offer opportunities for redevelopment and enhanced recovery. The remaining four blocks — Ndian River, Bakassi, Bomono, and Kombe-Nsepe — remain under evaluation within the broader licensing round framework.
SNH and the Cameroonian government will now enter production sharing contract negotiations with both companies, with the agreements expected to define investment commitments, cost recovery mechanisms, and profit-sharing structures that will ultimately set the pace of exploration and appraisal activity across the awarded acreage. Authorities expect the awards to attract fresh capital and technical expertise to an upstream sector that has experienced gradual output declines from ageing legacy assets.
Cameroon’s strategy is anchored in production optimisation, stabilising output from mature fields while opening new frontier acreage to exploration. The Douala–Kribi–Campo area is seen as a key potential gas province, with authorities pursuing expanded gas monetisation pathways, gas-to-power development, and infrastructure expansion around Kribi — including planned port upgrades and industrial energy projects — to build integrated gas value chains that strengthen midstream and downstream capacity. The licensing round is part of a wider continental trend, with countries including Libya and Sierra Leone also recently launching structured investment-driven rounds designed to re-engage international operators and unlock underexplored acreage.
Source: Oil Review Africa | Angolan Mining Oil and Gas