Oil
Murphy Oil secures four offshore exploration blocks in Cameroon
US-based Murphy Oil has signed four production sharing contracts covering 2.6 million acres offshore Cameroon following a recent licensing round.
Key points
- Murphy Oil holds a 100% working interest and operatorship across the four new blocks.
- Cameroon's SNH retains the option to acquire up to 20% equity if projects reach development.
- The agreements follow a licensing round that closed in March 2026 for blocks in the Rio del Rey and Douala/Kribi-Campo basins.
What happened
According to Offshore Technology, US-based exploration and production firm Murphy Oil has entered into four production sharing contracts with Cameroon's National Hydrocarbons Corporation (SNH). The agreements encompass approximately 2.6 million acres located offshore in the Rio del Rey and Douala/Kribi-Campo basins.
The newly acquired acreage comprises the Elombo, Etinde Exploration, Ntem, and Tilapia blocks. Operating through a local subsidiary, Murphy Oil assumes a 100% working interest and operatorship for all four concessions. Under the terms of the accord, SNH holds an option to secure up to a 20% working interest should any of the prospects advance to the development phase. Both entities plan to jointly evaluate the exploration potential of the acreage.
The awards stem from an SNH licensing round that remained open until 30 March 2026, which featured nine blocks situated near established production sites. Bidding criteria mandated technical evaluations, minimum work programmes, financial budgets, and environmental plans. Minimum exploration obligations involve seismic data acquisition, geoscience studies, and the drilling of exploration wells.
What comes next
Murphy Oil and SNH will begin collaborative assessments of the geological and geophysical data across the four blocks. The company brings recent offshore exploration experience to the venture, following an oil discovery at the Bubale-1X well in Block CI-709 off the coast of Côte d'Ivoire earlier in the year.
Why it matters
For investors and policymakers across the Gulf of Guinea, the expansion of offshore exploration activity highlights ongoing interest in mature and emerging West African basins. World Bank figures for 2023 indicate that fuel exports accounted for 54.1 percent of Cameroon's merchandise exports, underscoring the vital economic role that the hydrocarbons sector plays in the country.
At the same time, regional energy markets operate against a backdrop of steady commodity pricing. US Energy Information Administration data from November 2026 recorded Brent spot prices at 92.14 US dollars per barrel and WTI at 89.62 US dollars per barrel, maintaining robust economic incentives for international operators to commit capital to offshore exploration and production projects across Africa.
Original reporting
This article draws on the following reports. Read them in full on the publishers’ sites.
Context from CEII
Crude benchmarks move budgets, currencies and inflation in producer and importer countries alike. For economies such as Nigeria, where fuels dominate exports, production and refining decisions move the whole economy.
54.1% of Cameroon’s merchandise exports were fuels in 2023Countries in this story
Written by the CEII Desk, the Centre’s automated newsroom, from the reporting credited above and CEII’s own data. Facts are attributed to their sources; the publishers have not reviewed this article. Spotted an error? Tell our editors.
