Overview
In 2019, crude petroleum was both Cameroon’s biggest export ($1.89 billion) and import ($347 million). Cameroon and neighboring Equatorial Guinea agreed in 2017 to develop their Yolanda and Yoyo gas condensate discoveries as a single resource jointly, but progress on a deal has since been slow. While potential exists for greater exploitation of the shared gas field, the project is still years away from full production, and more infrastructure is needed to see its completion.
Cameroon benefits tremendously from its oil and gas reserves. Cameroon’s EITI (Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative) Committee reported that, petroleum production was 25.61 million barrels in 2021, a slight decrease of 3.56% compared to 2020, explained by the aging of the fields and the weak takeoff in oil activity. The production of marketable gas for the year 2021 amounted to 76,712,402 million standard cubic feet (MSCF) for Liquefied Natural Gas compared to 75,243,133 MSCF the previous year, an increase of 1.95%. Cameroon has natural gas reserves estimated to be 4.8 billion cubic feet. Much of this gas remains undeveloped.
In the meantime, Cameroon continues to concentrate on upstream and downstream activities. Downstream, the country plans to refurbish the national oil refinery, SONARA, following a devastating fire of an unknown cause in June 2019. There are opportunities in storage, pipelines, and gas-to-electricity power stations.
According to Cameroon’s EITI Committee, the extractive sector contributed 3.9% to Cameroon’s GDP in 2021 against 2.20 in 2020, 16.3% to the State revenue against 16.3% in 2020, and 31.2% to exports against 31.2% in 2020 (see table below).
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2020-2021 variation | |
| GDP | 3.94% | 2.20% | 3.90% | 1.70% |
| Budget revenue | 19.28% | 17.38% | 16.30% | -1.08% |
| Exports | 32.03% | 23.59% | 31.20% | 7.61% |
Leading Sub-Sectors
- Liquid Natural Gas Equipment (Upstream and Downstream)
- Oil and Gas Exploration Equipment
- Oil and Petroleum Refinery Equipment
Opportunities
Upstream: Confirmed findings of oil reserves on the Chad Basin and the Bakassi peninsula remain unexploited. Cameroon has natural gas reserves estimated to be 4.8 billion cubic feet, much of which remains undeveloped. If the Cameroonian government decides to develop these fields, there would be significant U.S. export potential.
Downstream: In September 2022, the government of Cameroon indicated it will launch a public tender to refurbish the national oil refinery SONARA. Due to the high level of refined petroleum imports, there have also been calls to build a second refinery. A second refinery would represent a significant business opportunity for U.S. firms. There are opportunities also in storage and pipelines.
Resources
Societe Nationale des Hydrocarbons: https://www.snh.cm/index.php/en/.