Sterling Energy, the AIM listed oil and gas exploration company, has given up on its Ntem Concession, offshore Cameroon.

Sterling said on Friday that its wholly owned subsidiary Sterling Cameroon has issued a notice of surrender in relation to the Ntem Concession. The company is the operator of the permit with 100% interest.

The Ntem concession area is a deep water block situated in the southern Douala / Rio Muni Basin and lies adjacent to the northern maritime border of the Rio Muni province of Equatorial Guinea. Water depths range from 400m to 2,000m, east to west across the block.

The company said that the surrender will be effective by the end of December 2016 and added that it does not expect to incur any material costs associated with the surrender.

Eskil Jersing, the company’s Chief Executive Officer said: “We are disappointed that we have been unable to reach an acceptable solution for all parties to advance operational activity on the Ntem Concession.

“Given the declaration of force majeure in May 2014, the remaining potential on the block and the challenging macro landscape, we have made the decision to formally surrender the Ntem Block. Our focus remains on securing transformative, exploitation led M&A opportunities.”