Murphy Oil Signs Production Sharing Contracts for Four Offshore Oil and Gas Blocks in Cameroon

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On November 11, the U.S. oil company Murphy Oil Corporation and Cameroon's national oil company (SNH) signed four production sharing contracts in Yaoundé, covering four offshore oil and gas blocks in the Douala/Kribi-Campo Basin—Etinde Exploration, Tilapia, Ntem and Elombo—with a combined area of approximately 10,578.13 square kilometers. Through its subsidiaries, Murphy initially holds a 100% working interest in all four blocks and serves as operator, while SNH retains an option to participate in investment in future development phases and acquire up to a 20% interest.

The exploration programs under the four contracts have a maximum duration of 7 years, comprising an initial exploration period of 3 years and two optional extension phases of 2 years each. The initial phase mainly involves reprocessing of existing seismic data, geological studies and geophysical analysis, with a minimum work expenditure of US$600,000 per block, totaling US$2.4 million for the four blocks. Each subsequent extension phase provides for the drilling of one exploration well per block, with an estimated investment of approximately US$25 million per well. If all four blocks complete both extension phases, up to 8 exploration wells would be drilled.

According to the work program announced at the signing ceremony in Cameroon, the overall exploration program for the four blocks is estimated at approximately US$202.4 million, of which more than US$2 million is for data processing and geological studies in the initial phase, and approximately US$200 million corresponds to the drilling arrangements in the subsequent extension phases. The subsequent drilling expenditure depends on whether the contract extensions are approved and on actual execution, and does not represent the full investment already committed at signing. Murphy's previously issued corporate announcement did not disclose the specific contract amounts or the drilling date of the first well.

The signing follows an international tender for nine oil and gas blocks launched by Cameroon's national oil company in August 2025. The bid evaluation results announced on April 24, 2026 showed that Murphy West Africa Ltd qualified for contract negotiations for four blocks—Etinde Exploration, Tilapia, Elombo and Ntem—after which the two parties completed contract negotiations and formally signed the production sharing agreements. All four blocks are located in the Douala/Kribi-Campo offshore basin and form part of Cameroon's current round of oil and gas exploration and development arrangements.

Under the interest arrangements disclosed in the contracts, Murphy will initially be responsible for exploration operations across all four blocks, and SNH may elect to acquire up to a 20% working interest when the projects enter the commercial development phase in the future. If exploration discovers oil and gas resources with commercial development value, the projects will still need to proceed to subsequent appraisal, development plan approval and investment and construction phases. At present, the two parties will first carry out seismic data processing and geological and geophysical studies.