(Business in Cameroon) – Cameroon’s hydrocarbons sector posted a net trade surplus of 164 billion CFA francs ($266 million) in the first quarter of 2025, an improvement of 28% from the same period last year despite weaker crude oil export receipts. The gain came largely from a sharp fall in imports, which offset a modest decline in exports.
Hydrocarbon exports totaled 343 billion CFA in the quarter, down 4.7% from 360 billion a year earlier, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics. Crude oil brought in 212 billion CFA, representing about 62% of sector exports, while liquefied natural gas contributed 122 billion CFA, up 14.7% year-on-year. Refined fuels added a further 9 billion CFA. Export volumes fell 1.7% to 1.12 million tonnes.
Crude oil continues to face structural headwinds. Export revenues dropped 14.4% in the quarter as output slipped 7.9% to 681,000 tonnes. Production in the Rio del Rey and Douala/Kribi-Campo basins has been declining due to aging fields and rising recovery costs, while no new discoveries have come online to offset the decline. By contrast, LNG volumes grew 10.3% to 421,000 tonnes, supported by existing supply contracts with international operators.
Imports fell more sharply, dropping 22.9% to 179 billion CFA from 232 billion in the first quarter of 2024. Fuels and lubricants accounted for 160 billion CFA of that total, while butane contributed 18 billion CFA. Import volumes contracted 13.8% to 372,000 tonnes, a decline linked in part to lower international oil prices. Brent crude averaged $80–85 per barrel in early 2025, compared with levels above $100 during 2022.
The sector’s coverage ratio — the measure of exports relative to imports — rose to 192% from 155% a year earlier, indicating nearly twice as much in export earnings as import costs. Excluding crude oil, the hydrocarbons trade account remained in deficit but narrowed significantly due to the rise in LNG exports and the slowdown in refined product purchases.
For the full year 2024, hydrocarbon exports amounted to 1.43 trillion CFA, down 11.8% from 2023, while imports declined 11.5% to 1.03 trillion CFA. The resulting annual surplus of 392 billion CFA marked the second year of decline after a record 1.04 trillion CFA in 2022, when global oil and gas prices surged following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Crude production averaged about 58,000 barrels per day last year, down from nearly 61,000 in 2022.
Between 2019 and the first quarter of 2025, hydrocarbons generated a cumulative net surplus of 3.2 trillion CFA. The period highlights both the structural importance of the sector to Cameroon’s external accounts and the volatility tied to international prices and domestic production trends. While the Q1 2025 figures point to a more favorable trade position, the longer-term trajectory will depend on new investment in upstream oil and gas and progress in reducing dependence on imported fuels.
Idriss Linge
