Cameroon’s long-awaited Kribi refinery is moving onto a faster track, as officials frame the project as a cornerstone of the country’s push to regain energy independence.
Speaking on February 27, 2026, during a visit to the headquarters of the National Hydrocarbons Corporation (SNH) in Yaoundé, George Li, president of the RCG consortium and partner to SNH and Tradex in the Cstar-led refinery project, confirmed an accelerated timeline. “We confirm that testing and commissioning of the equipment will begin by the end of this year,” he said.
Under the updated schedule, the completion of Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) studies is expected by June 2026 — a key milestone before heavy construction begins. Equipment delivery is scheduled for September 2026, with production targeted to start around December 25, 2026. Initial capacity is set at 10,000 barrels per day, before scaling up to 30,000 barrels per day beginning in 2027.
Preparatory work is already underway. According to Nathalie Moudiki, chair of Cstar’s board, since the groundbreaking ceremony on July 17, 2025, “the site camp has been installed, and engineering teams have been deployed since early January 2026, marking the effective start of construction.”
A Bid for Energy Sovereignty
The anticipated early production of 10,000 barrels per day in 2026 would cover about 22% of Cameroon’s national demand for diesel and gasoline, according to Cstar. That would significantly advance the original timeline, which had projected commissioning in June 2028.
The complex, located on 250 hectares within the Kribi industrial and port zone, will include a 30,000-barrel-per-day refinery and a storage terminal with an initial capacity of about 250,000 cubic meters, expandable to 300,000 cubic meters. Construction is being carried out by a consortium made up of RCG Turnkey Solutions, Global Process Systems (GPS), and Norinco International.
The project is part of Cameroon’s broader strategy to regain “energy sovereignty.” The country’s only existing refinery, Sonara, has been offline since a 2019 fire. Since then, Cameroon has relied entirely on imported refined petroleum products.
“No country in the world can claim stable and coherent development without energy,” Ms. Moudiki said. “This is about our sovereignty. SNH has decided to take responsibility and secure petroleum supplies to ensure Cameroon’s energy resilience.”
Up to CFA400 Billion in Annual Savings
Cameroon’s annual demand for petroleum products is estimated at 1.9 million metric tons, all of which have been imported since Sonara’s shutdown. National storage capacity, currently about 270,000 cubic meters, falls short of the estimated 470,000 cubic meters required to meet safety and commercial stock standards.
Project promoters estimate that the Kribi refinery could generate annual savings of about CFA400 billion (roughly $720 million) by reducing fuel imports. They also project export revenues of around CFA141 billion per year, particularly from marine fuels.
The project is expected to create about 7,000 jobs, including 2,000 direct positions. Cstar is owned by Ariana Energy (49%), Tradex S.A. (31%), and SNH (20%).
Brice R. Mbodiam
