VZCZCXRO9121
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMA RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHYD #0108/01 0301113
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 301113Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9653
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 YAOUNDE 000108 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
Department for EEB and AF/C 
PARIS FOR Kaneda 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EPET ENRG ECON CM
SUBJECT:  OVERVIEW OF CAMEROON'S OIL AND GAS SECTOR 
 
REF. 08 YAOUNDE 1046 
 
¶1.  (U)  Summary:  Cameroon is the seventh largest oil producer in 
Sub-Saharan Africa, not including the oil transiting Cameroon in the 
$4 billion Chad-Cameroon pipeline owned and operated by an Exxon 
Mobil-led consortium.  Although French company Total accounts for 
two-thirds of current exploration and distribution, U.S. companies 
retain a major stake in the sector.  In light of recent attacks in 
the Gulf of Guinea region, the Government of Cameroon (GRC) is 
taking steps to improve security.  Beyond oil, the GRC is playing up 
the promise of its gas reserves, hoping to attract several companies 
to explore for gas.  Cameroon's first gas thermal plant project, led 
by American energy company AES, has been delayed by disputes over 
the finance structure of the deal.  End Summary. 
Oil Production 
-------------- 
¶2.  (U)  Cameroon is the seventh largest oil producer in sub-Saharan 
Africa (fifth in Central Africa), producing 31.2 million barrels 
(85,600 barrels/day) in 2007.  The production level has been 
relatively stable for the past decade but is substantially below 
levels in the mid-1980s (production in 1986 was 65.5 million 
barrels/year, for example), and most observers believe Cameroon's 
oil production has passed its peak.  Oil production accounted for 50 
percent of Cameroon's exports (by value), 10 percent of GDP, and 26 
percent of total budgeted revenues in 2008.  In the first third of 
2008 (January-April), the Government of Cameroon (GRC) netted $500 
million in oil revenues, almost double the amount forecast, largely 
because of higher than expected international oil prices. 
¶3.  (U)  During a recent meeting with the Ambassador, Executive 
General Manager of the Societe Nationale des Hydrocarbures (SNH, the 
National Hydrocarbons Corporation parastatal), Adolphe Moudiki 
acknowledged that Cameroon's known oil reserves are depleting, 
although he said the rate of decline has slowed since 1993. 
Cameroon's only large oil reserve, the offshore Rio del Rey basin, 
has been exploited since 1977 and is running down.  There is also a 
marginal oil reserve offshore near Kribi being drilled by Perenco 
Cameroon, with an output of 9,608 barrel per day.  Cameroon has 59 
oil platforms (41 for Total, 12 for Pecten, 6 for Perenco) and 4 oil 
terminals (including for the Chad-Cameroon pipeline). 
Oil Exploration 
--------------- 
¶4.  (SBU)  SNH is seeking new exploration in hopes that additional 
reserves will be found.  Since 2007, the GRC has sought interest in 
oil and gas exploration of blocks in Bakassi (752 Km2), Bolongo (462 
Km2), Lungahe (84 Km2) and Mokoko West (18 Km2).  Based on 
preliminary geological testing, SNH also believes there is oil in 
the Far North (Logone Birmi basin, 27,000 Km2), in the North 
(Garoua, 7800 Km2) and in the South West (Mamfe basin, 1775 Km2). 
Moudiki told Ambassador that, despite common perceptions of Bakassi 
as being oil rich, there is no data on potential oil in Bakassi. 
"If there is oil in Bakassi it would be a good surprise," he said. 
¶5.  (U) The continued high price of oil exploration equipment has 
pushed SNH to partner with foreign oil companies and has raised the 
cost of exploration.  Nonetheless, investment in exploration doubled 
from $101 million in 2006 to $246.75 million in 2007.  Companies 
engaged in oil exploration come from the United States (Exxon-Mobil, 
Noble Energy, Kosmos Energy, Rodeo Resources Inc, Sterling Oil and 
Gas Pty Ltd, Pecten - which also has a UK/Dutch stake);  France 
(Total E & P, Perenco Oil and Gas); Britain (Euroil, owned by 
Bowleven, Tullow Oil); Australia (Fusion Oil and Gas) ; Malaysia 
(Petronas); Vietnam (in association with the French company Total) 
and Switzerland (Addax Petroleum).  China will soon enter the sector 
as well, according to Moudiki. 
Oil Distribution 
---------------- 
¶6.  (U)  About 80 percent of Cameroon's domestic fuel consumption is 
fed from the state-owned refinery SONARA, with imports making up the 
remaining 20 percent.  The SONARA refinery uses lighter crude 
purchased from either Nigeria or Equatorial Guinea.  Government 
subsidies and price controls keep down the price at the pump.  The 
Cameroonian public is particularly sensitive to oil prices, which 
constitute an unusually high component of food prices.  Rising oil 
prices contributed to socio-economic pressures that exploded in 
violent unrest in February 2008.  A GRC parastatal, the Oil Price 
Stabilization Fund (CSPH), recycles oil receipts from SNH into 
subsidies at the pump.  In September 2008, CSPH estimated its 
subsidy costs at more than $46 million per month, making the fuel 
subsidy the largest item in the GRC budget. 
¶7.  (U)  Downstream distribution operators include Total, Libya oil 
(which bought out Exxon Mobil's operations), the state-owned Tradex 
and Chevron-Texaco (which bought out Shell and is about to exit the 
market). Total accounts for two-thirds of the petroleum sector, with 
36 ocean platforms, 5 treatment facilities, and 160 gas stations. 
¶8.  (SBU)  Moudiki was frustrated that some distribution companies 
have made decisions at headquarters to sell off their local 
 
YAOUNDE 00000108  002 OF 002 
 
 
operations and informed the government only afterwards.  The GRC 
does not have the first right of refusal but these sudden sales are 
disruptive for the market, he said.  (Note: We took Moudiki's 
comment to refer to Shell and Texaco, which have both sold off their 
Cameroon operations for reasons having to do with global corporate 
strategy.  End note.)  Nonetheless, SNH has excellent relations with 
all the American companies and treats all the operators on a 
non-discriminatory basis, he added.  Ambassador noted that U.S. 
companies have praised SNH for its expertise and openness. 
Oil Sector Security 
------------------- 
¶9.  (SBU)  Moudiki said the GRC is "very worried about security" in 
the oil sector.  He recently met with oil companies and the Ministry 
of Defense to discuss how to prevent piracy and improve security. He 
hoped the companies could help in organizing the logistics and 
possibly in fixing GRC boats but was emphatic that he did not expect 
the companies to give the GRC money to support their security. 
Security was not a major concern for the Chad-Cameroon pipeline, he 
said, since the pipeline is buried underground.  Since the meeting 
with Moudiki, the government has taken some concrete steps to 
improve the security of offshore oil assets, including providing 
military escorts for some ships. 
Gas Potential 
------------- 
¶10.  (U)  The GRC boasts 157 billion cubic meters of proven natural 
gas reserves with an estimated potential for 570 billion cubic 
meters total in the Rio del Rey and Douala/Kribi-Campo basins. 
Addex, Euroil, and Glencore are the biggest exploration companies. 
Developing gas production could take many years, especially since 
the known supplies are scattered in small quantities, Moudiki said. 
¶11.  (U)  The state owned SONARA oil refinery produces liquefied 
natural gas (LNG) and the GRC has discussed the possibility of 
selling substantial amounts of gas to Equatorial Guinea's LNG 
company Marathon Oil starting in 2010/2011.  However, Moudiki told 
us he considers it a priority to supply gas for domestic 
consumption, and SNH is planning a significant expansion in LNG 
storage facilities.  Franco-Belgian consortium Gas de France (GDF) 
Suez LNG Lt. is due to begin a feasibility study to develop LNG, 
including onshore extraction for domestic needs, the production of 
condensate, and the creation of additional capacity for gas-based 
power generation. 
¶12.  (SBU)  According to Moudiki, President Biya has urged the GRC 
to develop gas-based thermal power.  In its first gas thermal power 
plant project, the GRC has signed an agreement with the U.S. company 
AES for the construction a gas power plant with a capacity of 150 MW 
at Kribi.  The project is held up by disagreements between AES and 
SNH over the structure of the partnership and some of the details of 
the deal.  The GRC is also studying the possible construction of a 
gas-fired power plant at Logbaba, in the outskirts of Douala, with a 
capacity of 66 MW for an estimated cost of $80 million.  In 
addition, as a member of the Global Gas Flaring Reduction (GGFR) 
group, Cameroon hopes to recycle flared gases (estimated in 2005 to 
total 1.1 billion cubic meters). 
Comment 
------- 
¶13.  (SBU)  In response to international pressure linked to the 
Highly Indebted Poor Country debt relief process, the GRC opened its 
management of the oil sector to increased transparency, signing up 
to participate in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative 
(EITI) and moving SNH's transfer to the government into formal 
accounting mechanisms.  But the sector remains under the 
Presidency's tight control, and recent reports of "off-budget" 
spending of SNH funds suggest a return to past practices, when SNH 
was treated as the Presidency's private kitty.  With about a third 
of the national budget derived from oil receipts, Cameroon's 
leadership recognizes the threat posed by declining reserves and 
they are turning to new exploration, the potential for gas, and the 
untapped mining sector to replace the declining oil receipts.  The 
drop in world oil prices (and the upward pressure on the budget, 
driven by new hiring and food subsidies) has only added to the 
government's sense of urgency. 
GARVEY