Q & AAfrica

Chad Uses Environmental Rules to Keep Tight Grip on Oil Sector

Chad Uses Environmental Rules to Keep Tight Grip on Oil Sector
Chadian workers guide a pipe down a well in the Doba oil fields in southern Chad, Oct. 10, 2003 (AP photo by Susan Linnee).

Chad is currently in talks with the Chinese National Petroleum Company (CNPC) over oil-extraction licenses that were revoked due to environmental violations. In an email interview, Celeste Hicks, a freelance journalist specializing in Africa, discussed Chad’s oil sector.

WPR: What is the extent of Chad’s oil sector, and what plans are there for further development?

Celeste Hicks: Chad is currently producing about 130,00 barrels per day (bpd) of oil. Around 100,000 bpd comes from the Kome oil fields near the southern town of Doba, which is operated by a consortium led by Esso and Malaysia’s Petronas, and about 15,000 bpd is produced from the Ronier fields in the Bongor Basin, operated by CNPC. Between 10,000-14,000 bpd is produced from reconditioned wells owned by the Canadian oil company Caracal at Bandila and Mangara close to Doba. All of the crude from Kome is exported via pipeline to the Cameroonian coast. The national oil company SHT (Societe Hydrocarbures du Tchad) has recently bought up a 25 percent stake previously owned by Chevron in the consortium activities at Kome. Exploration continues by smaller firms in the Lake Chad Basin and around the Kome fields.

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