Cameroon’s Logbaba Gas Operator Changes Hands After VOG Sells Parent Company

Gaz du Cameroun (GDC), which produces and distributes natural gas from the Logbaba field in Douala, is no longer controlled by Victoria Oil & Gas Plc (VOG). Since July 29, 2025, Cameroon Holdings Limited (CHL) has indirectly controlled the Cameroonian gas operator after VOG’s administrators sold it all of the group’s shares in Bramlin Limited, GDC’s sole shareholder.

The transaction was disclosed in the administrators’ fifth report, signed Sept. 19, 2025, and filed with the U.K.’s Companies House three days later. A sixth report, signed March 19, 2026, and filed April 1, confirms that the full purchase price has been received. VOG says it no longer holds any financial interest in GDC.

CFA356.4 million deal included claims worth CFA68.48 billion on the books

The total consideration was £470,000, equivalent to about CFA356.4 million at the July 29, 2025, exchange rate. The transaction covered the Bramlin shares and two claims held by VOG: $114.1 million due from Bramlin and $6.3 million due from GDC, equivalent to about CFA64.90 billion and CFA3.58 billion, respectively, or CFA68.48 billion combined.

Those book values do not represent GDC’s cash holdings or amounts that were necessarily recoverable. The administrators’ report does not disclose their realizable value, and CHL did not break down the purchase price among the three assets.

Before the remaining balances were sold, VOG had received £135,000 from GDC in partial repayments, equivalent to about CFA102.4 million at the exchange rate used for the transaction.

Payment for the acquisition consisted of an £80,000 advance, or about CFA60.7 million, followed by a £390,000 balance, or nearly CFA295.7 million, due no later than Oct. 22, 2025. The administrators confirm that the balance was received between Aug. 20, 2025, and Feb. 19, 2026.

Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP (AAB), which was commissioned by the administrators, had assigned a zero value specifically to the Bramlin shares based on production levels and forecasts, decommissioning costs and the additional investment required.

The administrators therefore concluded that the price obtained exceeded that valuation. The assessment does not, however, establish that the two claims included in the transaction also had no value.

Before negotiations with CHL, the administrators had appointed SIA Group to find potential buyers. Between July and September 2024, 24 parties were contacted, eight signed nondisclosure agreements and five expressed interest, but none submitted a formal offer.

From Logbaba financier to GDC owner

CHL’s involvement with Logbaba dates back to 2009. According to VOG’s financial reports, CHL helped finance the project and drilling operations with a $4 million contribution toward operating expenditure, equivalent to about CFA1.88 billion at the July 9, 2009, exchange rate, when the agreements were signed.

In return, CHL received a variable royalty on revenue. VOG acquired a 35% stake in CHL in 2011 before later relinquishing that interest. A halt in payments in January 2019 triggered a dispute among CHL, VOG and GDC. An agreement dated Nov. 9, 2020, settled the dispute and eliminated the royalty.

Under that settlement, VOG transferred its 35% interest in CHL to Logbaba Projects Limited at no cost and granted CHL fixed and floating security over its assets. The royalty also played a role in arbitration between GDC and RSM Production Corporation. In April 2022, VOG announced a partial award of about $12.1 million in favor of RSM, plus interest, equivalent to CFA7.21 billion at the April 4 exchange rate.

The tribunal found that GDC had improperly included the royalty in its cost-recovery calculation, which delayed the cost-recovery date from Feb. 1 to June 1, 2016.

The principal damages award was initially set at $10.58 million, or CFA6.31 billion, before an additional award reduced it to $6.57 million, equivalent to about CFA3.92 billion. On Sept. 19, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ordered confirmation of the corrected award.

CHL later became VOG’s main secured creditor and was able to appoint the first administrators on Feb. 20, 2023. Cameron Gunn and Simon Jagger of S&W Partners LLP were appointed joint administrators on May 2 that year.

As of Aug. 1, 2025, CHL valued its claim against VOG, including interest, at $13.73 million, or about CFA7.90 billion, compared with $11.01 million, or CFA6.33 billion, at the start of the administration process. The administrators said they had not validated the revised amount.

CHL also acquired the rights to potential proceeds from a legal claim held by VOG through a $3 million credit bid, equivalent to about CFA1.73 billion.

No cash changed hands for that transaction. Instead, the amount was deducted from VOG’s secured debt, which reduced CHL’s claimed balance to $10.73 million, or about CFA6.17 billion.

VOG’s administration is scheduled to continue until Feb. 20, 2027, unless it ends earlier. Outstanding matters include legal proceedings, assets that remain to be realized and a tax dispute with U.K. authorities. The administrators’ report does not disclose GDC’s recent financial performance or the identity of CHL’s current shareholders.

Amina Malloum