The upstream segment of the oil and gas industry contains exploration activities, which include creating geological
surveys and obtaining land rights, and production activities, which include onshore and offshore drilling .
The LAW No 2019/008 of 25 April 2019 to institute the Petroleum Code lays down the rules governing upstream petroleum activities.
Today, we shall be looking at the various upstream authorizations needed to carry out upstream petroleum activities
in Cameroon.
They exist 05(five)upstream petroleum authorizations which are;
-Prospection authorization
-Exploration authorization
-Provisional exploitation authorization
-Exploitation authorization
-Domestic transportation authorization
Prospection Authorization
This permit can be granted to natural or legal persons, it is a permit that grants its holders the non-exclusive right to carry out preliminary prospecting within a specified area. There shall not constitute a hydrocarbon mining title and
shall not be transferable or assignable.
Several prospecting authorization may be granted concurrently for the same area.
Exploration Authorization
There can either be hydrocarbon exploration permits or exclusive exploration authorization permits depending on the contracts attached to it.
Exploration authorization shall confer on their holders the exclusive right to carry out at their risk and expense, hydrocarbon prospecting and exploration within the limit of the relevant area, except as may be otherwise provided for in the petroleum contract.
Generally, it can be renewed twice each renewal having a maximum period of 2 years all in all the permit plus renewal can not exceed 07(seven)years or 09(nine)years in the scenario of an authorization in a special petroleum
operation zone. The authorization and its renewals are granted by Presidential decree, it is presumed granted once
a petroleum contract is signed.
Provisional Exploitation Permit.

T H E V A R I O U S
A U T H O R I Z A T I O N S N E E D E D
I N U P S T R E A M P E T R O L E U MA C T I V I T I E S I N C A M E R O O NE N E R G Y • O I L & G A S • M I N N I N G
During the period of validity of an exploration authorization holder may apply for a provisional exploitation
authorization which shall be granted by decree of the President of the Republic of Cameroon. The grant of a
Provisional authorization shall allow the exploration authorization to subsist, but shall not prolong its validity periods.
The provisional exploitation authorization shall confer on its holder the right to carry out prolonged production tests
and/or operate productive wells on a provisional basis for a maximum period of 02(two)years.
Exploitation authorization or Permit
This is the main and most important petroleum permit in the code.
An exploitation authorization attached to a petroleum contract shall be either an exploitation concession, in the case
of a concession contract, or an exclusive exploitation authorization the case of a Production Sharing Contract or a
risk service Contract.
The exploitation authorization shall cover the surface area of a commercially exploitable hydrocarbon deposit. It
shall confer on its holder the exclusive right to carry out, at the holder’s risk and expense, all petroleum operations
within the limits of the relevant area, as well as the right to dispose of all or part of the hydrocarbon productive in
accordance with the terms of the petroleum contract.
The initial validity period of the exploitation authorization may not exceed 25(twenty-five)years for liquid
hydrocarbons and 35(thirty-five)years for gaseous hydrocarbons.