Government and the UK-based oil company sealed a production sharing agreement deal in Yaounde on September 25, 2015.
The Thali block in the Rio Del Rey Basin in the Niger Delta oil sub-basin will hence see experts of the Tower Resources Plc explore its oil and gas resources. The government of Cameroon, represented by the Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development, Emmanuel Bonde and the Executive General Manager of the National Hydrocarbons Corporation, SNH, Adolphe Moudiki, and the Chief Executive Officer of Tower Resources Plc, Graeme Thomson, on September 15, 2015, in Yaounde, signed a Contract Sharing Agreement. Present to grace the event was the British High Commissioner to Cameroon, His Excellency Brian Olley.
Tower Resources Plc will hence prospect the 119.20 square kilometre block for three years. The contract commits the company to carry out geological and geophysical studies, acquire, process and interprete 100 km2 of the 3D seismic data, to probe beneath the surface to “see” underlying features that make up the underground structure. It also has to drill one exploration well. The minimum financial commitment subscribed by the company under the deal is estimated at 13 million US dollars (about FCFA 7.5 billion). The press release from the ceremony notes that the “company could be entitled to two renewals of its Exlusive Prospecting Authorisation for two additional periods of two years each, during which an exploration well is scheduled to be drilled during each period depending on results obtained during the initial period.” The minimun financial commitment for the three periods, with a maximum term of seven years, is 43 million US dollars, (about FCFA 24.9 billion).
The contract however holds that the underground survey and well drilling activities will be preceded by environmental and social impact assessments. The CEO of the liquid hydrocarbons and natural gas exploration and production company told the press that the primary focus of Tower Resources is safety. Through its subsidiaries, Tower owns a portfolio of assets in oil exploration in various African countries, including Zambia, where it operates two blocks. According to Graeme Thomson, “We help in several neighbourhood schemes and also attach importance to the training of people using local labour where we can enhance the skills of the local society where we work.” He disclosed that his company holds environmental and social impact assessments in high esteem, thus, the Thali block is entitled to such with the collaboration of ministries concerned.
The oil company, listed in London, plans to acquire 3D seismic data in 2016 and exploration well drilling commitments in 2017 and 2018. Yesterday’s contract is the 21st signed within the framework of the December 22, 1999 law on the Petroleum Code.
