Cameroon’s state-owned oil company, Société Nationale des Hydrocarbures (SNH), has received presidential instructions to dispatch a delegation to Malabo to initiate the extraction of the Yoyo and Yolanda deposits, which straddle the maritime border between the two countries, African Intelligence reported on Wednesday, 26 November 2025.
The Yoyo Field lies within Cameroon’s Douala Basin, while the Yolanda Field is located in Equatorial Guinea’s Block I, directly across the border. The Yolanda I‑3 well previously tested at 36 million cubic feet per day of natural gas and 371 barrels per day of condensate. Together, these gas-condensate fields represent significant reserves that could be monetized through LNG exports or regional gas infrastructure.
Discovered in 2007 by Noble Energy (later acquired by Chevron), the fields are situated about 50 km east of Bioko Island in deep water at approximately 896 metres. The contested waters also encompass parts of Cameroon’s Etinde gas field and Equatorial Guinea’s Camen and Diega fields, which similarly straddle the maritime boundary.
For years, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea disagreed over boundary demarcation, each seeking exclusive rights to explore and produce hydrocarbons in these zones. However, recent years have seen a shift toward cooperation, with both nations signing agreements to jointly develop and monetize cross‑border resources.
The turning point came in March 2023, when Presidents Paul Biya of Cameroon and Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea signed a landmark bilateral cooperation agreement during the CEMAC Heads of State Conference in Yaoundé.
This built on a 2017 preliminary agreement that explored the unitization of Yoyo and Yolanda to ensure shared benefits and coordinated development.
This rapprochement is being closely observed—and quietly encouraged—by Washington, which views regional cooperation as vital for stability and energy security.
Cameroon holds an estimated 400 million barrels of crude oil reserves and 4.8 billion cubic feet of natural gas, much of which remains underdeveloped. The joint exploitation of Yoyo and Yolanda could mark a significant step toward unlocking these resources.