Cameroon: Ntem
Location: Southern Douala Basin (Kribi-Campo Sub-basin)
Area: 2,319 km2
Sterling Equity: 100% (Operator)
The Ntem contract area was signed in March 2001 with Ministerial degree given in September 2002. The Ntem permit covers 2,319km2 and is located in water depths ranging from 200m to 2,000m.
The Ntem permit is situated in the southern Douala/Rio Muni Basin and lies adjacent to the northern border of Equatorial Guinea. This area was the focus of considerable industry attention following the 1999 Triton discovery of the deepwater Ceiba field, in Block G and a series of subsequent discoveries.
During 2001 and early 2002, four further inboard discoveries were made to the north of the Ceiba field, all based on the use of seismic attributes to predict the presence of hydrocarbons in subtle stratigraphic traps. These successes served to highlight prospectivity in this part of the Gulf of Guinea. Interest has been further bolstered by drilling a short distance to the north, specifically Conoco-Phillips Coco Marin oil discovery (2003), and several recent gas condensate discoveries in Tertiary reservoir systems.
In March 2001, immediately upon signing the Ntem contract, Sterling acquired a block-wide 2,110km 2D seismic survey in the permit. The data acquired was of excellent quality and highlighted geological similarities between features in the Ntem permit and nearby discoveries in Equatorial Guinea. In 2002, a 1,500km2 3D survey over approximately 70% of the exploration permit was acquired. Sterling has since carried out detailed seismic interpretation of this 3D survey to construct a prospect inventory.
The next phase of work consists of drilling a single exploration well. This, however, has been suspended due to an outstanding border claim with Equatorial Guinea. Following the successful resolution of the border issue and hence determination of the perimeter of Ntem, Sterling plans to expedite drilling in this block.
