The rig of the contracted driller, Vantage Drilling International has already arrived in Cameroonian waters.

The British oil and gas company, Bowleven has announced that they have contracted a Topaz Driller rig to drill oil in the Etinde Permit, off the coast of Limbe for 150 days. The company that operates in Cameroon through its wholly owned subsidiary, EuroOil, said in a statement that drilling will commence shortly.

The driller passed through the South East Asian waters, transited through Singapore before arriving in  Cameroonian waters to begin drilling. The drilling will be carried out by an international offshore drilling contractor, Vantage Drilling International.

The oil exploitation is being carried out within the framework of a joint venture in which Bowleven holds 25 per cent offshore interests. The main operator of the Etinde Permit is New Age Cameroon Offshore Petroleum S.A (a subsidiary of the New African Global Energy Ltd).

Bowleven and Lukoil are its partners. Exploitation will take place in two oil wells in the Rio Del Rey and Douala basins (Moambe and Zinganga) where hydrocarbons including oil, condensate and gas were discovered a couple of years ago.

“The two well appraisal drilling campaign on the Etinde asset, in which the Company holds a 25% interest, is due to commence shortly,” the company said in a statement.

The initial drilling of the IM-6 well is expected to be carried out at the end of May, according to the statement from Bowleven. The driller valued at about 40 million US dollars (circa FCFA 22.2 Billion) covers Bowleven’s share of the drilling and testing programs’ expenditure.