At the Invest in African Energy forum, a dedicated Central African spotlight will showcase Cameroon’s upstream prospects and future LNG export plans
By Our Correspondent
PARIS, France – As a mature producer, Cameroon is at a critical crossroads in its oil and gas development, requiring new exploration to offset diminishing reserves, while finding alternative pathways to monetize small and stranded gas reserves.
As a result, the country has attracted a slew of independent explorers who are launching new exploration activities and developing marginal assets, as well as brought online one of the most innovative floating LNG facilities globally. These developments and more will be unpacked at the Invest in African Energy (IAE) forum in Paris, where a dedicated Central African spotlight will establish Cameroon as a premier oil and gas investment destination.
At the helm of upstream exploration, Anglo-French independent Perenco signed a new 20-year PSC with Cameroon’s National Hydrocarbons Company (SNH) last June for continued development of the Rio del Rey Basin, which has produced more than one billion barrels of oil to date and has estimated remaining reserves of approximately 1.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
In the same month, Perenco brought online the South Kole Marine Oil Development – a marginal field that currently produces over 3,800 barrels per day (bpd) – following the company’s eight-month development program.
London-based independent Tower Resources is also leading exploration within the Rio del Ray Basin under its Thali PSC, which is estimated to hold at least four distinct play systems, including two established plays in which three discovery wells have already been drilled.
Earlier this month, Cameroon’s Ministry of Mines, Industry and Technological Development extended the first exploration period of the Thali PSC through February 2025. The contract requires the drilling of one exploration well – NJOM-3 – for which Tower Resources has contracted the Norve jack-up rig, expected to mobilize between June and August 2024.
Further gas monetization represents a strategic opportunity for Cameroon, which is estimated to hold an underdeveloped 4.8 billion cubic feet of gas reserves. The country is renowned for its Hilli Episeyo FLNG facility – the first FLNG plant in the world to be built from a converted LNG carrier – which processes gas from the Sanaga South and Ebomé fields for export to global markets.
Last October, Golar LNG – who developed the facility in partnership with SNH and Perenco – announced its 100th LNG cargo from the facility and is already in discussions to re-contract the Hilli FLNG at the end of its current charter in July 2026. With an estimated production of 1.6 million tons of LNG per year – and future plans to reach 5 million tons by 2026 – Cameroon offers associated investment opportunities in gas storage, pipelines and gas-to-power stations.
In Cameroon, midstream and downstream infrastructure remain a key area for foreign capital and technology injections. The country currently has one oil refinery – the SONARA refinery, with a capacity of 2.1 million bpd – which is in need of upgrade and refurbishment after suffering from fire damage in 2019.
Between the period 2018-2022, BRICS countries exported roughly $960 million in refined petroleum products to Cameroon, underscoring the country’s dependence on costly fuel imports and its vulnerability to global supply chain disruptions. Given the country’s current energy demand and production landscape, global investors face the highly prospective opportunity to establish a localized value chain in Cameroon that brings new oil and gas resources to market.
