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EDF International and its partners have set up the Nachtigal Hydro Power Company (NHPC) to develop the 420MW Nachtigal dam scheme on the Sanaga River.NHPC, a Cameroonian limited company based in Yaoundé, was established on 7 July. It is 40% owned by EDF, 30% by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation and 30% by the Cameroonian state. Establishment of the project company follows the signing of a joint development agreement in November 2013, and a production concession contract in July 2014.

SDX Energy has opted to withdraw from the Bakassi West licence rather than enter into the next exploration period which carries a further well commitment. Operator Dana Petroleum requested a one-year extension to complete analysis of the results of the Manatee-1X exploration well, which intersected 26 metres of gas-bearing section of varying quality throughout the wellbore. However, the authorities turned down Dana’s request and instead asked the company to enter into the second exploration period with a further well commitment.

Cameroon may be the Central African Economic and Monetary Community’s largest economy, but it remains a political and commercial enigma. Decision-making can move at a glacial pace, in a political system dominated by President Paul Biya, whose apparent aspirations to be re-elected to a fourth seven-year term are a cause of concern, not least for a youthful population living in poor economic and social circumstances. However, progress has been made in delivering services, reflected in the energy sector by national utility Eneo, owned by UK private equity investor Actis, and Victoria Oil and Gas’s growing business selling gas to industry and consumers in commercial hub Douala.

Victoria Oil & Gas subsidiary Gaz du Cameroun (GDC) is preparing to drill two additional wells into the onshore Logbaba field and has signed a rig contract with Savannah Oil Services Cameroon. Drilling is planned to start in late Q2 and complete by year-end. VOG described the budget for the two-well drilling programme as “less than $40m, significantly lower than initial estimates made in 2015”.

Edinburgh-based Bowleven has been awarded a one-year extension to the Bomono exploration licence, pending the final award of an Exploitation Authorisation. The application was submitted to the Cameroon authorities in December before the exploration licence expired, to enable development activities to go ahead. Approval has yet to be granted, but the extension ensures that the AIM-listed company’s interest in the acreage is maintained.

Dana Petroleum’s Manatee-1 exploration well on the Bakassi West Block failed to find oil but the partners are assessing a gas-bearing section. SDX Energy said the shallow water well in the Niger Delta Basin was drilled to a total depth of 1,447 metres and intersected 26 metres of gas-bearing section of varying quality. “Whilst we are disappointed not to have made an oil discovery, we recognised the risks associated with exploration wells of this kind. The secondary objective was to see whether we could make a commercially viable gas discovery.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has issued a general procurement notice for JCM Greenquest Corporation’s 72MW solar PV power plant in Mbalmayo. The AfDB-managed Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa has approved a grant to fund the development activities remaining to be completed for the project to reach financial close. These include completion of an environmental and social impact assessment, and recruitment of lenders’ legal, technical and financial advisers. Bidding documents are expected this month.

South Korean-owned Dana Petroleum has begun drilling the Manatee-1 exploration well on the Bakassi West Block. Partner SDX Energy said the well, in shallow water in the Niger Delta Basin, was being drilled using the Paragon M825 jack-up rig to a depth of 1,550 metres. The operation is expected to take up to 45 days. The concession, which contains a number of discoveries, is covered by 350km of newly acquired 2D seismic from which 13 prospects and leads have been identified.

Victoria Oil & Gas (VOG) has agreed to acquire Glencore’s operated stake in the Matanda Block, adjacent to its Logbaba permit. The block includes the North Matanda gas field. VOG said on 18 February it would acquire Glencore Exploration Cameroon’s 75% interest in the Matanda production-sharing contract and take over the operatorship via its subsidiary Gaz du Cameroun (GDC) Matanda. In exchange, VOG will take over responsibility for a work programme to be agreed with the government. The assignment of the stake is conditional on this being agreed, and on other customary government approvals.

Victoria Oil & Gas (VOG) plans to lay 13km of new pipeline this year, connecting new customers to its Douala gas network, and to increase capacity at its gas processing plant in the first phase of a three-phase expansion.VOG director Ahmet Dik told African Energy the pipeline expansion into the Bonabéri industrial area would connect at least ten customers who were already signed up.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) on 17 December approved a €24m ($27m) loan for the expansion of the Kribi gas power plant. The expansion project will increase the capacity of the 215MW plant, which has been operating since May 2013, to 340MW. The loan was approved under the AfDB’s New Deal on Energy for Africa initiative, which aims to help achieve universal energy access in Africa by 2030.

Société Nationale des Hydrocarbures (SNH) and Perenco have announced a final investment decision for an eight-year floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) project to sell gas to Russia’s Gazprom. On 27 November, Gazprom Marketing & Trading Singapore, Perenco Cameroon, Golar Hilli and Golar Cameroon signed agreements for the project, based on the allocation of 500bcf of natural gas reserves to be supplied by SNH and Perenco from the Sanaga Sud and Ebome fields. Golar will own and operate the Hilli vessel which is under conversion at the Keppel shipyard in Singapore. First LNG deliveries from the terminal are expected to start in H2 2017.

The UK’s Sterling Energy has expressed concern that Société Nationale des Hydrocarbures (SNH) is listing the Ntem Block as open. AIM-listed Sterling is in dispute with SNH over the block, where the company declared force majeure in May 2014 due to overlapping border claims by Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. Sterling’s former partner Murphy Oil drilled the unsuccessful Bamboo well in an undisputed area of the licence in 2014 and withdrew in February this year. “Sterling is disappointed that SNH and the Ministry have decided to try to promote the Ntem concession as available to the market,” said chief executive Eskil Jersing.

Victoria Oil & Gas (VOG) plans exploration drilling next year to supply a planned expansion of its Logbaba gas processing plant in Douala. The company appointed a new management team in 2013 after significant cost overruns and has been focusing on transforming itself from an exploration and production company to an integrated utility company. A key milestone was a take-or-pay contract signed with power utility Eneo in December 2014 to supply the 20MW Bassa and 30MW Logbaba power stations.

AIM-listed Tower Resources signed a production-sharing contract (PSC) on 15 September for the shallow-water Thali Block in the Rio del Rey Basin. Tower has a 100% interest in the block, which was formerly known as Dissoni and licensed to Total and Pecten. The work programme for the initial exploration period of three years calls for geological and geophysical studies, 100km2 of 3D seismic acquisition and a commitment well with a minimum financial commitment of $13m. Two optional renewal periods of two years will each require an exploration or appraisal well with a minimum $5m commitment.