After more than a decade on hold, oil operations could resume at the Zina-Makary block in Cameroon’s Far North. In its 2024 activity report, the National Hydrocarbons Corporation (SNH) said a special operations committee is expected to review the situation and potentially lift the force majeure in place since May 2014, paving the way for a restart.
If confirmed, the move would mark a turning point for a project frozen due to deteriorating security conditions in the region. It would reopen exploration work in the Logone Birni basin, considered one of the country’s most promising oil zones.
Located in the Far North, the Logone Birni basin covers about 27,000 square kilometers. Of this, 8,506 square kilometers were awarded to China’s Yan Chang. In April 2009, the company signed a production-sharing agreement with the Cameroonian government covering exploration activities in the Zina and Makary blocks.
Operations were halted in May 2014 as security threats intensified, particularly due to Boko Haram incursions in the region. The situation led to the declaration of force majeure, effectively suspending all activity.
SNH has repeatedly highlighted the impact of such instability on the oil sector. In 2020, the state company noted that security crises had weighed on the implementation of its 2015–2019 development plan, aimed at optimizing oil and gas revenues. It also pointed to reduced investor interest, as security concerns slowed efforts to promote available exploration blocks.
At the time, SNH identified two areas under force majeure: Bakassi in the Southwest and Zina-Makary in the Far North. While the company did not quantify the losses, it stressed that exploration is essential to renewing national reserves, especially as existing fields continue to age.
Before operations were suspended, prospects at Zina-Makary were seen as encouraging. SNH chief executive Adolphe Moudiki had emphasized the importance of expanding reserves through intensified exploration. In 2012, operators had planned around a dozen exploration wells, including one in the Zina-Makary area, following promising results from an earlier well drilled the previous year.
In this context, lifting the force majeure at Zina-Makary carries strategic importance. Beyond restarting activity at the block, it could help revive upstream investment and support efforts to replenish Cameroon’s reserves—an increasingly urgent need for a country still heavily reliant on mature oil fields.
Amina Malloum
