(Business in Cameroon) – A detailed feasibility study by French firm Axens places the cost of rehabilitating Cameroon’s only oil refinery, Sonara—destroyed by a fire in May 2019—at CFA300 billion. Prime Minister Joseph Dion Nguté announced the updated figure on November 26, 2025, during his presentation of the government’s 2026 economic, financial, social, and cultural program before the National Assembly. The new estimate is CFA50 billion higher than the initial CFA250 billion planned by the government.
The prime minister did not explain the reasons for the 20 % increase. Several financial institutions have already shown interest in supporting the refinery’s restoration. On June 17, 2025, representatives from the Union of Arab and French Banks (UBAF), Dutch lender ING, and the Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB) visited Limbe to discuss opportunities with refinery officials. Their mission aimed to help “propel the refinery toward a promising future,” according to official sources.
To help restart Cameroon’s refinery, the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) has also expressed willingness to activate its Window B, which is reserved for refinancing medium-term loans for productive investment. “I confirm that this window is designed to finance projects in the productive sector. For Sonara, we took the initiative to approach authorities to present this tool, which could support the refinery’s rehabilitation,” BEAC governor Yvon Sana Bangui said on September 29, 2025, during the closing press conference of the central bank’s third Monetary Policy Committee session for the year.
Pressure on foreign reserves
Sources say the central bank approached Cameroon months earlier to propose financing up to 60 % of the amount needed for Sonara’s rehabilitation, then valued at CFA250 billion, through its Window B.
Since the fire that destroyed Sonara’s facilities, Cameroon has imported 100 % of the petroleum products consumed domestically. These imports place pressure on Cemac’s foreign reserves, which enable member states—Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, and the Central African Republic—to jointly cover their import spending. This has exposed the subregion to cash-flow strains for overseas supplies, prompting the governor’s call for urgent rehabilitation of the refinery.
“In Cameroon, I advocate for Sonara to be restored very quickly. Today, all countries in the subregion import finished petroleum products. This weakens our external position,” Sana Bangui said on June 24, 2024, in Yaoundé during a meeting of the BEAC Monetary Policy Committee.
BRM
