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Cameroon’s Bid Round Wraps Up in April 2026

Section: Farm in, Farm Out · March 12, 2026 · No comments |

Cameroon’s National Hydrocarbons Corporation (SNH) – is accepting proposals for any of the nine exploration and production blocks on offer in the ongoing bid round, all through March 30, 2026.

The acreages are located in two basins: 1) the Rio del Rey (RDR) basin, which has the Ndian River, Bolongo Exploration and Bakassi blocks and 2) the Douala/Kribi‑Campo (DKC) basin, which has Etinde Exploration, Bomono, Nkombe‑Nsepe, Tilapia, Ntem and Elombo blocks.

The results are scheduled for April 24, 2026.

SNH says the nine blocks are “strategically located near existing producing fields”, and they all feature prior drilling, two dimensional (2D) and three dimensional (3D) seismic coverage and identified leads and undrilled prospects, giving investors immediate insight into exploration and development potential.

Competitive Framework Attracts Investors

Cameroon’s licensing round accommodates multiple contractual frameworks, including Concession Contracts, Production Sharing Contracts and Risk Service Contracts. Exploration periods vary by block: Bolongo, Bomono, Etinde Exploration, Tilapia, Ntem and Elombo have an initial three-year term, renewable twice for two-year periods, while Bakassi, Kombe-Nsepe and Ndian River have five-year initial terms, also renewable.

Companies must submit proposals including technical evaluations, minimum work programs, budgets, environmental and social commitments and local content plans. Minimum work programmes require drilling exploration wells, seismic acquisition and geoscience studies, while negotiable fiscal terms – profit-oil/gas shares, royalties and cost oil/cost gas – ensure competitive commercial conditions.

Descalzi Joins the Pilgrimage to Tinubu as ENI Wins a PML for Zabazaba

Section: Farm in, Farm Out · March 6, 2026 · No comments |

The Oil Prospecting Licence 245 (OPL 245)-the so called “Malabu Block”- in deepwater central Niger Delta, was front and centre at the Thurday, March 5, 2026 meeting between Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and Claudio Descalzi, Chief Executive Officer of ENI, the Italian oil major.

The meeting followed up on the conversion of the OPL 245 into two development licences, Petroleum Mining Leases (PML) 102 and 103, and two exploration licences, Petroleum Prospecting Leases (PPL) 2011 and 2012.

ENI’s Nigerian subsidiary, Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited (NAE), will operate the four licences. Its partners include Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCO).

“The agreement includes the mutually satisfactory settlement of all claims related to OPL 245 and the discontinuation of the international arbitration proceeding at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID); as a consequence”, ENI said in a release.

“The recent signature of the Project Agreements will enable the development of the Zabazaba and Etan fields”, the company added. Zabazaba and Etan are located in PMLs 102 and PML 103 respectively.

“The Etan-Zabazaba development leverages approximately 500Millon Barrels (MMbbls) of oil of reserves, and its development plan is premised on a 150,000Barrels of Oil Per Day (BOPD) capacity FPSO processing facility, while Two Hundred Million standard cubic feet per day (200 MMscf/d) of gas at peak will be exported through Nigeria LNG”, ENI explained.

With these agreements, the Tinubu administration has retreated and walked away from the hard stance that the Nigerian government had taken on the so-called Malabu Scandal since Tinubu’s predecessor, President Muhammadu Buhari, took office in 2015.

“The agreement marks the resolution of a dispute spanning more than 15 years. It restores clarity and stability to an asset widely recognised as one of Nigeria’s most commercially promising deepwater blocks”, the Nigerian president said through a spokesman on Thursday.

“This resolution sends a clear signal to global investors that Nigeria is prepared to address legacy issues transparently, uphold the rule of law, and create a stable environment for long-term capital,” the President said.

“The settlement also represents a significant improvement on the 2011 Resolution Agreement, reflecting the policy framework established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and the administration’s broader fiscal and governance reforms in the energy sector”, said Olu Arowolo-Verheijen, President Tinubu’s adviser on energy.

It is telling that Mr Desclazi himself, now ENI’s CEO for the last 12 years, was one of those officials of ENI who faced certain prospect of a jail term, as Italian prosecutors ran the Malabu case as a fraud case in the Milan court between 2018 and 2021.

A June 14, 2021 judgement by the United Kingdom commercial Court “that there is no evidence of fraud in the OPL 245 transaction between Nigeria and JP Morgan Chase Bank”, followed the March 17, 2021 ruling by the Milan court, declaring that Descalzi and members of his management “had no case to answer” for the payment the company made to acquire its stake in the OPL 245 Lease, on 2010.

The Buhari government had pressed on, regardless of the acquittals in London and Milan, with the Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) maintaining, in the Nigerian court system, “that a fraudulent settlement and resolution came under (President Goodluck Jonathan’s) government with Shell and ENI buying the oil block from Malabu in the sum of $1.1Billion”.

By his visit to the highest office in Nigeria, Mr. Descalzi joined the lengthening queue of CEOs and top tier ranked executives of oil majors, making the pilgrimage to Mr. Tinubu, whose series of reforms in the last 30months has put the global oil patch on notice about Nigeria’s readiness as an investment destination.

In January 2026, Global Shell CEO Wael Sawan met with President Tinubu to discuss a planned $20illion investment in Nigeria. Earlier, in July 2023, a delegation of Shell executives led by the Director of Shell Nigeria also met with the President. In January 2024, Clay Neff, President of Chevron International Exploration and Production, led a delegation to the State House, accompanied by Chevron Nigeria’s top management, to discuss bolstering investment in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector. In June 2023 Liam Mallon, President of ExxonMobil Upstream Company, led a delegation to meet with President Tinubu and again in May 2024 to discuss investments and divestment issues.

“With regards to the exploration licenses PPL 2011 and PPL 2012, they hold high potential and are suitable for fast-tracked development synergic with future Zabazaba-Etan facilities”, ENI said.

President Tinubu and Mr. Descalzi also discussed ENI’s other investment portfolio — including the diminishing Abo field, down to les than 10,000Barrels of Oil Per ay in gross output which ENI operates; the Bonga fields and Nigeria LNG, which are led by Shell.

ENI has recently acquired some stake in the Bonga from TOTALEnergies and expanded its interests in the asset to 15%.

ENI has been operating in Nigeria since 1962, with activities ranging from hydrocarbon exploration and production to power generation and community development. The company currently has an equity production of approximately 55,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and a 10.4% stake in Nigeria LNG.

Dawes Island Ruling is a Judicial Overreach Threatening Nigeria’s Marginal Field Reform, AEC Laments

Section: Farm in, Farm Out · February 12, 2026 · No comments |

The Federal High Court ruling reversing the revocation of the Dawes Island license risks undermining Nigeria’s “drill or drop” policy, impacting investor confidence and the sanctity of petroleum contracts, the Africa Energy Chamber (AEC) has lamented.

The judgement against the Ministry of Petroleum Resources in favor of Eurafric Energy Limited, reverses the 2020 revocation of the Dawes Island marginal field license, which post revocation has been held and developed by Petralon 54 Limited since 2022.

“The ruling effectively challenges the regulator’s 2020 decision not to renew Eurafric’s license that had expired without commercial production after 17 years”, the AEC notes in a release.

“An appeal has since been initiated by Petralon 54 Limited, with a stay of execution pending determination by higher courts.

“For Nigeria’s upstream sector – which is already navigating production recovery and reform implementation under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) – the implications extend far beyond a single asset”, AEC points out.

The advocacy group says it “strongly condemns the ruling carried down against the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and Petralon, recognizing it as not only an affront to Nigerian companies that are trying to develop marginal fields but also as a clear example of judicial overreach.

“The Chamber stands firmly with the Ministry and Petralon, calling for the issue to be resolved to pave the way for Petralon to continue increasing production, monetizing the asset and supporting Nigeria’s long-term industry goals.

The AEC is deeply concerned by the legal reasoning underpinning the judgment. A central issue is the apparent application of provisions of the PIA – enacted on August 16, 2021 – to events that occurred prior to its passage. The Dawes Island license expired in April 2019, and the regulator formally declined renewal in April 2020 – both actions taken under the legal regime in force at the time. Applying the PIA retrospectively risks undermining the principle of legal certainty that underpins long-term upstream investment. Investors commit capital on the basis of clear statutory frameworks, fiscal terms and regulatory authority.

The ruling also raises operational concerns, particularly in its treatment of approximately 62,000 barrels produced during a well test as evidence of commercial production. In established upstream practice, well testing is a technical evaluation of reservoir performance – not the commencement of sustained commercial production, which requires regulatory confirmation through a technical allowable. Additionally, reliance on an unsigned farm-out agreement to establish enforceable legal interest departs from established contract law principles, under which unsigned documents do not create binding obligations. Taken together, the ruling risks setting a precedent where lower courts intervene in technically complex petroleum matters in a manner inconsistent with regulatory practice and fiscal governance.

Chevron Gets into Libya, Bolstering its Mediterranean and African Credentials

Section: Farm in, Farm Out · February 12, 2026 · No comments |

By Mohammed Jetutu, in Cairo

Chevron Corporation (by its subsidiary Chevron Business Development EMEA Ltd)., has entered Libya after it was designated as a winning bidder in the 2025 Libyan Bid Round. This follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the country’s National Oil Corporation (NOC).

The US major was designated as the winning bidder for Contract Area 106 located in the Sirte Basin on February 11, 2026 in Libya’s 2025 Bidding Round. On January 24, 2026 Chevron separately signed an MoU with NOC in Tripoli to evaluate the development and exploration potential in the country’s onshore.

To win the Contract Area 106, Chevron elbowed out the French major TOTAL and the American independent ConocoPhillips in a stiff competition.

“Chevron is excited to enter Libya with the award of onshore Contract Area 106, which underscores our focus on North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean region, and is a good fit in our exploration strategy to grow our portfolio with high-quality acreage and high impact prospects,” said Kevin McLachlan, Vice President of Exploration at Chevron.

The Libyan entry is part of a wider Pan African and Mediterranean effort by the company

In early February 2026, Chevron signed a unitisation agreement covering the YoYo-Yolanda gas condensate discovery that straddles the maritime boundary between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon, paving the way for its development. A month before that the company took the Final Investment Decision (FID) to expand the production capacity of the strategic Leviathan production platform located offshore Israel. The expansion project, expected to come online towards the end of this decade, is a big deal in the Mediterranean; it is right at the heart of the December 2025 deal signed between Israel and Egypt to increase the former’s gas export to the latter from 2030 to 2040.

“Libya has significant proven oil reserves and a long history of producing its resources. Chevron is confident that its proven track record in developing oil and gas projects and its technical expertise gives it the ability to support Libya to further develop its resources,” Chevron said in a statement.

The award of the Contract Area is subject to the execution of a Production Sharing Agreement.

“Chevron looks forward to our partnership with NOC and other key stakeholders in Libya. The Contract Area award and MoU are important milestones as we continue to evaluate opportunities to support Libya’s energy sector,” said Frank Mount, President of Corporate Business Development.

“Chevron has a diverse exploration and production portfolio in the Mediterranean and Africa and continues to assess potential future opportunities in the region. Chevron is one of the largest producers and acreage holders in Nigeria, Angola and Equatorial Guinea. It has two exploration blocks each in Namibia and Guinea-Bissau, and three exploration blocks in Egypt. In February, Chevron also signed an MoU in Syria”.

TOTALEnergies Doubles Down on Namibian Asset, Expands its Exploration Portfolio as Operator

Section: Farm in, Farm Out · February 7, 2026 · No comments |

TOTALEnergies has signed agreements to acquire a 42.5% operated interest in PEL104 Exploration license, located offshore Namibia, from Eight Offshore Investments Holdings and Maravilla Oil & Gas.

Upon completion of the transaction, the French major will be the operator of the license holding a 42.5% interest alongside Petrobras (42.5%), Namcor (10%) and Eight (5%).

Located in the Lüderitz basin, PEL104 license covers an area of around 11,000square kilometres ((km² ) offshore Namibia.

“After the acquisition in December 2025, of a 40% operated interest in PEL83 license, TOTALEnergies further strengthens its position in Namibia by entering this new exploration license as operator”, the company says in a statement.

While progressing towards the development of Venus and Mopane discoveries, we are very pleased to expand our portfolio and continue exploring the prolific resources of Namibia, in order to unlock further value that will benefit the country and all stakeholders”, stated Nicolas Terraz, TOTAL’s President Exploration & Production.

Completion of the transaction is subject to customary third party approvals from the Namibian authorities and joint ventures partners.

25 of the Marginal Fields Class of 2020-2022 Pass a Muster Test of Investor Certainty

Section: Farm in, Farm Out · January 29, 2026 · No comments |

About half of the 50 hydrocarbon fields awarded in the 2020-2022 Nigerian bid round have moved to a more certain, next stage.

Two have had their Petroleum Prospecting Licences (PPLs 202 &218) converted to Petroleum Mining Licences.

Another five have earned the status “Conversion to PML in Progress”.

18 other PPLs have received “Optional Extension Granted”.

But there are 25 more that haven’t been….

Read more here

TOTAL Gets 24 More Years in Libya’s Waha Concession

Section: Farm in, Farm Out · January 26, 2026 · No comments |

French major TOTALEnergies has inked an agreement with Libyan authorities, extending the Waha Concessions up to December 31, 2050.

“This agreement sets new fiscal terms allowing to increase the production of these concessions that are currently producing around 370,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOEPD)”, the company says in a statement. “It paves the way for a new phase of investments, including the development of the North Gialo field, which is expected to add 100,000BOEPD of production.

On TOTAL’s side, the signing was done by Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TOTALEnergies, in the presence of Abdul Hamid Dbeiba, Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity. The ceremony was performed during the Libya Energy & Economy Summit in Tripoli.

TOTAL’s statement reiterateded that it has been in the country since 1956, and reaffirmed its long-standing commitment to working alongside its partners to increase Waha’s production, starting with the development of the North Gialo field.

Pouyanné said: “Extending the Waha concession, with its low cost and low emission giant resources offering many opportunities to grow production, fits perfectly with our strategy”.

The Azeris Sign up for a Large Stake in ENI’s Côte d’Ivoire Asset

Section: Farm in, Farm Out · January 22, 2026 · No comments |

By Sully Manope, in Abidjan

SOCAR, the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan, has signed a binding agreement with ENI, the Italian explorer, for the sale of a 10% stake in the Baleine Project, a large deepwater development offshore Côte d’Ivoire.

The transaction aligns with ENI’s strategy of optimising its upstream portfolio by accelerating the monetization of exploration discoveries through the divestment of equity stakes, a model known as the “dual exploration model,” ENI said in a release.

The closing of the deal is subject to appropriate regulatory approvals and other customary terms and conditions.

The Baleine field was discovered in 2021, two decades after the last commercial discovery in Côte d’Ivoire and it achieved production in record time, in 2023. Currently, Baleine produces over 62,000 barrels of oil and more than 75Million cubic feet of gas per day from Phases 1 and 2. With the launch of Phase 3, production is expected to rise to 150,000 barrels of oil and 200Million cubic feet of gas per day.

Baleine is operated with a 47.25% stake by ENI. Current partners include Vitol (30%) and the state hydrocarbon company Petroci (22.75%).

“The agreement is consistent with the broader collaboration between ENI and SOCAR”, the statement said. “In 2024, the companies signed three Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) focused on energy security- aiming to expand cooperation on hydrocarbon exploration and production- as well as greenhouse gas emissions reduction and the biofuel production chain”

ENI has been present in Cote d’Ivoire since 2015. Baleine is its first development in the country.

ReconAfrica Raises $27Million from Investors to Fund Crucial Well test in Namibian Frontier

Section: Farm in, Farm Out · January 20, 2026 · No comments |

Canadian explorer, Reconnaissance Energy Africa (ReconAfrica), has completed its listed issuer financing exemption offering for aggregate gross proceeds of C$36,800,098 (~$27Million), including the exercise in full of the over-allotment option.

BW Energy Limited acquired 2,315,780 Units pursuant to the Offering, comprised of 2,315,780 Common Shares and 1,157,890 Warrants, for an aggregate purchase price of C$2,199,991 $1,588382.50, which is around 6% of the total proceeds. The shares were indirectly acquired through BW Energy’s wholly-owned subsidiary BW Energy Services Limited (BWESL).

The money was raised for the purposes of expediting activity across the company’s portfolio, including a production test to determine the producibility of the discovered reservoirs in Kavango West 1X well onshore Namibia and the exploration of the Ngulu Block offshore Gabon, which includes the Loba discovery.

“This Offering sets out to fund that multi-pronged 2026 capital programme. Net proceeds will be used for the following activities”, ReconAfrica says in the release:

Conducting an extensive production test and installing production casing at the Kavango West 1X discovery well;
Advancing operations to spud the Kavango appraisal well;
Re-processing seismic at the Loba discovery and exploration inventory on the Ngulu block in Gabon to advance towards a resource report and drill ready status of an appraisal well; and
General corporate purposes and working capital.

The Offering was conducted on an underwritten basis led by Research Capital Corporation as the lead underwriter and sole bookrunner, on behalf of a syndicate of underwriters, which included Canaccord Genuity Corp. and Haywood Securities Inc.

ReconAfrica issued at total of 38,736,945 units at a price of C$0.95 per Unit. Each Unit comprised of one common share of the Company (“Common Share”) and one-half of one Common Share purchase warrant of the Company (“Warrant”). Each Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Common Share at an exercise price of C$1.20 at any time up to 36 months from closing of the Offering.

The Units were sold to purchasers resident in Canada pursuant to the listed issuer financing exemption under Part 5A of National Instrument 45-106 – Prospectus Exemptions and Coordinated Blanket Order 45-935 – Exemptions from Certain Conditions of the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption and to eligible purchasers resident in jurisdictions outside of Canada (including to purchasers resident in the United States pursuant to one or more exemptions from the registration requirements of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended), in each case in accordance with all applicable laws. The Units are not subject to any hold period under applicable Canadian securities legislation.

The Offering is subject to final acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange.

Prior to the closing of the Offering, BW Energy, through its wholly-owned subsidiary BWESL, beneficially owned 24,023,000 Common Shares and 24,023,000 Common Share purchase warrants of the Company representing approximately 7.08% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares on an undiluted basis and approximately 13.22% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares assuming the exercise in full of the Common Share purchase warrants owned by BW Energy through BWESL.

Following the closing of the Offering, BW Energy, through its wholly-owned subsidiary BWESL, beneficially owns 26,338,780 Common Shares and 25,180,890 Common Share purchase warrants of the Company, representing approximately 6.96% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares on an undiluted basis and approximately 12.77% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares assuming the exercise in full of the Common Share purchase warrants owned by BW Energy through BWESL.

The Units have not been registered and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to U.S. Persons absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities in the United States or in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to qualification or registration under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.

VAARIS Inks SPA for TOTAL’s 10% Stake in NNPC-Renaissance-ENI-TOTAL JV

Section: Farm in, Farm Out · January 14, 2026 · No comments |

By Macson Obojemuimoin

TOTALEnergies has signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement with a Special Purpose Vehicle named VAARIS Resources JV Co (VRJC) Ltd for its 10% equity in the Renaissance Africa/NNPC/ENI/TOTAL Joint Venture, covering 18 oil mining leases (OMLs) in onshore and shallow water eastern, central and western Niger Delta basin.

VAARIS Resources JV Co. Ltd is a consortium of Nigerian oil and gas players, consisting of three marginal field operators and three industry service providers. The SPA with TOTAL was signed on behalf of the consortium by Tein George, Chairman of the company.

The Renaissance Africa/NNPC/ENI/TOTAL JV, formerly known as the SPDC /NNPC/ENI/TOTAL JV, is an unincorporated joint venture between Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Ltd (55%), Renaissance Africa Energy Company Ltd (30%, operator), TOTALEnergies EP Nigeria (10%) and Agip Energy and Natural Resources Nigeria (5%).

Under the agreement signed with VAARIS:

TOTALEnergies EP Nigeria will sell to VAARIS its 10% participating interest and all its rights and obligations in 15 licenses of Renaissance JV, which are producing mainly oil. Production from these licenses represented approximately 16,000 barrels equivalent per day in Company share in 2025.
TOTAlEnergies EP Nigeria will also transfer to VAARIS its 10% participating interest in the three other licenses of Renaissance JV which are producing mainly gas (OML 23, OML 28 and OML 77), while TOTALEnergies will retain full economic interest in these licenses, which currently account for 50% of Nigeria LNG gas supply.
Closing is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals.

The bid for this purchase, among Nigerian players, has gone for over three years.

VAARIS was the reserved bidder in the bid process to purchase the asset from TOTAL, placing second after Chappal Energies who won the bid in July 2024 for a firm consideration of $860Million.

TOTAL and Chappal did not close their transaction even after they had both received regulatory approval for the sale and purchase. So, by March 2025, TOTAL had recoursed to talking to other parties regarding the asset Sale and purchase.

Between March and June 2025, SAPETRO, the Nigerian independent owned by retired General Theophilus Danjuma, appeared set to clinch the prize. SAPETRO has been a partner with TOTAL in other assets for over 20 years. But VAARIS prevailed.

Then a new player entered the fray. The partnership between Bayo Ogunlesi, Chief Executive Officer of Global Infrastructure Partners & BlackRock, and Hakeem Belo-Osagie, chairman of Metis Capital, disrupted the proceedings. Ogunlesi and Belo-Osgie wrote in a letter to TOTAL that they had the capital in hand to both fund the acquisition and the “cash call” for projects that the JV partners select for development. The team visited the Paris, France, headquarters of TOTAL to meet with the French major’s top officials.

In Nigeria, they followed up with a correspondence to the office of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, seeking assurance for smooth regulatory consent in the event that they were successful. Messrs Ogunlesi and Belo-Osagie‘s widely publicised meeting with President Bola Tinubu in the week of September 29, 2025, was choreographed to signal how much access they had to the head of state.

Between October and mid-December 2025, it seemed like nothing was happening. There was a sense that the pendulum would swing in favour of the Ogunlesi-Bello-Osagie cohort.

Then in the morning of January 14, 2026, this press release from TOTAL arrived, announcing the SPA with VARIS. This is an evolving story.