The State of Cameroon has signed Thursday with a sino-cameroonian consortium, a contract for the sharing of production for oil research on the Ndian River II block, located in the Rio del Rey basin and covering an area of 2 530 square kilometres.

The Minister of Mines, industry and technological development (Minmidt), Emmanuel Bonde represented the State of Cameroon and the administrative director general of the national society of hydrocarbons (SNH), Adolphe Moudiki stood for the other side.

The consortium of Orion Energy Holding Inc. (exploration and production of hydrocarbon liquids and gases based in Beijing China) with 90% interest and Heta Oil and Gas Limited (petroleum company of Cameroonian law based in Douala), with 10% of the interest was represented by Weidong Zhang, Vice President of Orion Energy Holding Inc.

And after the terms of the contract signed Thursday at the headquarters of the SNH in Yaoundé, the consortium is committed to conduct research on the Ndian River II block for an initial period of five years. Work include among others, the development of geological and geophysical studies and the drilling of two exploration wells.

To run this research program, the consortium agreed a minimum financial commitment estimated at 75 million US dollars, nearly 40 billion. Depending on the results obtained at the end of this first period, research may extend over two further additional periods of two years each, during which it is intended, each time, the drilling of an exploratory well.

Environmental and social impact studies will be carried out in the run-up on each of the activities envisaged. The minimum financial commitment for these three periods of a maximum of nine years is US $ 150 million, or about 79 billion F.