The monthly financial flow shows sustained regularity, with payments estimated at 2.94 billion FCFA in January, 3.52 billion in February, 2.85 billion in March, 2.83 billion in April, and 2.95 billion in May. The budgetary dynamics confirm the positive trend observed in the first four months, a period that ended with a surplus of 1.2 billion FCFA in annual growth, representing an 11% increase in customs revenue.

The financial performance is directly based on the increased volumes of hydrocarbons transported from Central Africa's production basins to the Kribi maritime terminal. Technical reports indicate a volume of 16.1 million barrels of crude oil injected into the 1,080-kilometer pipeline during the first four months of the year. For N'Djamena, secure access to the Atlantic Ocean is a condition for exporting national resources to international consumer markets. In exchange for the right of passage through the national territory, Cameroon's tax system applies a tariff of $1.321 per barrel extracted and transported, a negotiated rate that reflects the progressive revaluation of an initial price set at $0.41 when the pipeline operations began.

The evolution of the contractual tariff schedule results from financial agreement protocols signed in 2013 and readjusted in 2018 to take into account variations in the global energy market. The initial clauses provided for the opening of new technical negotiations from the second half of 2023. The authorities in Yaoundé and N'Djamena are preparing to relaunch bilateral discussions to establish a new customs tariff framework. The challenge of future joint commissions will be to balance the financial profitability of the transit state with the global competitiveness of extractive companies operating in the hinterland, while ensuring the industrial security of the transport line.


Ndjomo Carlos

Tags: pipeline tchad-cameroun droits de transit fcfa hydrocarbures afrique centrale economie energie cameroun tchad oléoduc