Cameroon Grants Key Exploration Blocks to Murphy and Octavia to Revive Oil Output
Cameroon’s Société Nationale des Hydrocarbures (SNH) has advanced its 2025–2026 licensing round, originally launched on August 1, 2025, with the award of five oil and gas blocks to international operators.
Murphy West Africa has secured four blocks in the Douala–Kribi–Campo basin, a strategically important offshore and coastal region known for its established infrastructure and previous hydrocarbon discoveries.
Octavia Energy Corporation has been awarded the Bolongo Exploration Block in the Rio del Rey basin, a mature producing area near the Niger Delta that continues to offer untapped potential.
The Cameroonian government and SNH will now enter negotiations with both companies to finalize production sharing contracts (PSCs).
These agreements will define key fiscal and operational terms, including investment commitments, cost recovery mechanisms, and profit-sharing structures, ultimately shaping the pace of exploration and appraisal activities.
Authorities expect the awards to reinvigorate upstream activity, attract new investment, and help stabilize Cameroon’s oil production, which has declined in recent years due to aging fields and limited new discoveries.
