The green light from Cameroon’s presidency for Tower Resources to farm out 42.5% of the Thali offshore permit to Prime Global Energies is more than a routine administrative nod. It exposes the financial tightrope the British operator has been walking for years, and the strategic calculations that pushed Yaoundé to accept a new partner into one of the country’s most closely watched oil blocks. The approval, conveyed to the Prime Minister’s office, the Ministry of Mines, Industry and Technological Development (Minmidt) and the national hydrocarbons company SNH, opens the door to a $15 million investment commitment from Prime — roughly 8.65 billion FCFA at the European Central Bank reference rate of 28 September 2026 — aimed squarely at financing the NJOM-3 appraisal well.

This is not a cash payment to Tower. Under the classic farm-out model, Prime will fund a portion of the technical programme in exchange for a stake, joining Thali as a non-operating partner. Tower Resources Cameroon, the London group’s local subsidiary, will continue to run the operations. The arrangement keeps Tower in the driver’s seat while shifting the financial burden of drilling onto the incoming partner — a structure that reveals how little room the operator had left to manoeuvre.

The unfinished paperwork in Yaoundé

Presidential authorisation does not mean the deal is done. In its half-year accounts to 30 June, published on 28 September, Tower says it has seen a copy of the presidency’s letter to the Prime Minister’s services, Minmidt and SNH. But Minmidt still has to draft the order extending the initial exploration period and send the formal approval letter for the transfer. Until those executed documents are in the parties’ hands, the transaction remains on hold, and Tower admits the completion timetable is uncertain.

That caution is telling. The exploration programme is already years behind schedule because of a lack of funds to launch drilling. The administrative gap is not a formality — it is the last barrier between a stalled project and a potential restart.

Prime Global Energies, registered in the United Kingdom and focused on upstream oil and gas, is no stranger to the sector. Until December 2024 it was still called Prime Pakistan Limited, having previously operated as Eni Pakistan Limited. That lineage with the Italian group Eni gives it operational experience that may reassure Cameroonian authorities about the technical credibility of the new partner.

NJOM-3 pushed to the second quarter of 2027

Prime’s entry is primarily designed to secure funding for NJOM-3, the next appraisal well on Thali. Tower has revised its timeline: drilling is now expected to start in early the second quarter of 2027, from April onwards, compared with an earlier assumption of the first quarter. An earlier start is not entirely ruled out, but management prefers to keep the most prudent window in its forecasts.

“We currently plan to commence drilling in early Q2 2027,” says Jeremy Asher, chairman and CEO of Tower Resources. The rig choice has not yet been contracted. The company continues to review available units on the market and has decided to stop communicating on the subject until a firm contract is signed. Draft agreements with the other service providers needed for the operation, however, are already in place.

Part of the logistics is even set up in Douala. Tower has stored there, along with other equipment destined for NJOM-3, a system to suspend the well after testing and reuse it later for production, should test results prove encouraging.

A cash position that makes the deal existential

Prime’s contribution is almost existential for Tower. In its accounts, the group states it will need to either complete the Cameroonian farm-out, conclude another transaction on its assets, or raise additional capital to meet its commitments. At 30 June 2026, the company held just $66,583 in cash against $2.91 million in current liabilities. It has never produced a barrel and generates no revenue.

In the first half, $453,000 of expenditure was capitalised in Cameroon, down from $982,000 a year earlier. These commitments cover NJOM-3 preparation, engineering studies, drilling planning and the running of the Douala office. The $15 million promised by Prime should cover the remaining balance needed for the appraisal well. Later testing and any commercial development of the field will require fresh rounds of financing.

By Maimouna Kaboré — Editor-in-Chief