Lukong Pius Nyuylime
8 July 2009
Government yesterday signed a contract to that effect with the Noble Energy, Petronas consortium.
It would require 119 million US dollars (about CFA 57 billion) within seven years, all other factors being equal, for the Noble Energy and Petronas consortium to explore and state clearly if there is oil that can be extracted from the Tilapia block situated offshore in the Douala/Kribi-Campo basin.
This, in effect, is the substance of the contract signed in Yaounde yesterday between the government of Cameroon represented by the Minister of Industries, Mines and Technological Development, Badel Ndanga Ndinga and the Executive General Manager of the National Hydrocarbons Corporation, Adolphe Moudiki on the one hand and Steve Molbert, Vice President of Noble Energy and Mohd Noor Hussen, General Manager of Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd on the other hand.
The contract which is segmented in three periods, two of which are conditional, will consist in acquiring, processing and interpreting at least 600 kilometres of 2D seismic data, and the drilling of two exploration wells during the initial period of three years. According to the press statement issued at the end of the signing ceremony, the investment corresponding to the first three years has been estimated at 61 million dollars (about CFA 29 billion). "Depending on the results obtained in the first period, this programme could be extended by two additional periods of two years each during which the drilling of an exploration well is envisaged", the joint press statement said, underscoring that the total surface area of the block is 3,874.9 square kilometres.
Yesterday's contract signing ceremony translated the importance of the deal to the Cameroonian economy should oil be found in the block. In effect, for the contract to come to fruition, experts on both parties, discussed in ten sessions beginning on May 23, 2008 and ending on July 06, 2009. The team of experts for the Cameroon party was drawn from the Ministry of Industries, Mines and Technological Development, the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Trade, Ministry of Environment and Nature Protection and the National Hydrocarbons Corporation.
Noble Energy Cameroon is a subsidiary of the American Company Noble Energy Inc. based in Houston, Texas and listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The company is active in petroleum exploration and production in several countries worldwide notably in the United Kingdom, USA, China, Israel, and Equatorial Guinea. In 2008, Noble achieved a daily production of 215,000 barrels of oil. The company is already active in Cameroon where it made in the Nyong II permit, the Yoyo gas discovery with an estimated size of 30 billion Cubic metres.
Petronas Carigali Gas Limited on its part is a subsidiary of Malaysia's national company Petronas Carigali Overseas Sdn Bhd, based in Kuala Lumpur. The company operates in 30 countries worldwide with a daily production of 1.77 million barrels. In Africa, Petronas is active in Chad, Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania, Sudan, Mozambique and Ethiopia. It is partner to the Yoyo Concession in Cameroon and is part of the consortium which constructed the Chad-Cameroon Pipeline.
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