Have you ever owned something valuable but couldn’t make use of it? Think of Venezuela here.
Yes, the South American country holds the world’s largest proven reserves of crude oil but has struggled to make meaningful economic use of its “hot” resources—due to a mix of technical, economic, and political challenges. (You should look into it.)
Interestingly, there’s a country in Africa facing a similar—though not identical—situation.
That country is Cameroon.
Often dubbed the most mineral-rich nation in sub-Saharan Africa, Cameroon has only one main oil refinery—the Société Nationale de Raffinage (SONARA).
The refinery rarely processes crude oil from Cameroon. But why?
A look at the Limbe refinery and why it thirsts for foreign crudes
Built in 1973 and commissioned in 1981, SONARA is located in Limbe, in the South West region, which is the heart of Cameroon’s oil industry.
The refinery has a nameplate capacity of 42,600 barrels per day (b/d) and was designed to produce dual-purpose kerosene, petrol, butane (cooking gas), and diesel.
However, there’s a critical limitation.
SONARA was configured to refine light crude oil—particularly (Arab light) grades imported from Saudi Arabia.
This was long before Cameroon discovered its own heavy crude reserves.
By the late 1970s, when the country began commercial production, its oil would turn out to be predominantly heavy crude, which the SONARA facility was not designed to process efficiently.
A 2020 report indicated that only 15% of Cameroon’s heavy crude is refined domestically due to this technical mismatch and other unfavourable conditions.
Instead, SONARA has over the years imported light crude from Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Angola to keep operations running.
Growing imports and a crippled refinery
In recent years, Cameroon has seen a steady increase in refined petroleum imports, driven in part by a 2021 fire outbreak that damaged key facilities at the SONARA plant.
By September 2022, the Cameroonian government announced plans to refurbish the refinery via a public tender, but little progress was made until this year
In January 2025, the Ministry of Finance laid out new plans in the state budget to recapitalise SONARA.
The government is assuming CFA145.4 billion of the company’s tax debt, effectively helping to delist it among the country’s most indebted public enterprises.
By April, SONARA’s management began inviting bids for the rehabilitation of its premixing station and residential quarters.
New hopes: A second refinery
Also in April, the Cameroonian government acquired a 15% equity stake in a new $280 million integrated bitumen and oil refinery project being developed by All Bitumen Cameroon (ABC).
Once completed, the ABC facility could produce up to 230,000 litres of diesel daily, providing a much-needed boost to local refining capacity.
Snapshot of Cameroon’s oil sector
- Estimated crude oil reserves: 400 million barrels
- Estimated natural gas reserves: 4.8 billion cubic feet
- Main basins: Rio del Rey and Chad Basin (bordering Nigeria)
Despite having significant resources, much of Cameroon’s oil and gas reserves remain underdeveloped.
In 2017, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea agreed to jointly develop the Yolanda and Yoyo gas condensate fields, but a final deal has yet to be reached.
Cameroon’s oil production began in 1978 but has been in long-term decline—falling from a peak of 186,000 b/d in 1985 to just 62,000 b/d in 2012.
The Bakassi Peninsula, which was officially ceded to Cameroon by Nigeria in 2008, had sparked renewed optimism for offshore oil and gas exploration, but large-scale discoveries remain elusive.