Energy — oil & gas in Cameroon.

Energy — oil & gas

Cameroon's oil reserves are modest by regional standards. Current production is dominated by Perenco at Rio del Rey. Natural gas reserves are several trillion cubic feet, much of it underdeveloped. The Sanaga South field supplies gas to a thermal power plant at Kribi, operational since the early 2010s. There is a small LNG operation.

The Société Nationale des Hydrocarbures (SNH) is the national oil company and mandatory state participant. SNH and Perenco jointly produce the Sanaga South natural gas reserves, in a long-standing partnership. The Ministry of Mines, Industry and Technological Development administers upstream licensing. Fiscal terms are PSC-based; regulatory capacity is weaker than in Nigeria or Ghana, and implementation inconsistency and political pressure on contracts are documented risks.

The government has opened bidding rounds for blocks across the Rio del Rey and Douala/Kribi-Campo basins, signalling appetite for new investment to stabilise declining-field revenues. Perenco has signed long-dated PSC extensions on Rio del Rey, which has produced over a billion barrels and holds substantial remaining reserves in tight sandstone pay with classic brownfield characteristics. Perenco has been drilling at the Kita Eden field in the northern part of the basin.

Frontier acreage in Douala and Kribi-Campo is under-explored. The Yoyo-Yolanda gas field, which crosses the border with Equatorial Guinea, is being studied within a regional Gas Mega Hub strategy, but FID is deferred pending commercial terms.

Perenco is the dominant operator and buyer; the company has long-standing relationships with major service providers and independent specialists. Operating philosophy is cautious and cost-conscious, prioritising field-life extension over aggressive drilling. SNH has limited independent technical capacity and depends on operators for subsurface interpretation, though SNH teams are progressively upgrading their skill base. Smaller indigenous operators are largely absent from Cameroon's upstream.