Chad-Cameroon pipeline boosts Yaoundé’s revenues by 222 billion FCFA in six years
The Chad-Cameroon pipeline has become a vital revenue stream for Yaoundé. Between 2020 and 2025, Cameroon’s public treasury collected 222.2 billion FCFA in transit fees from Chadian crude oil transported to the Kribi maritime terminal. The figure is outlined in the Medium-Term Economic and Budgetary Programming Document (2027-2029) compiled by the Ministry of Finance. Over the six-year span, this translates to an average annual revenue of 37 billion FCFA, earned for the transit of each barrel through Cameroonian territory.
Chad, a landlocked nation without direct access to the sea, relies entirely on this infrastructure to export its oil. The transit fee collected by Cameroon is calculated per barrel transported, with rates adjusted periodically through bilateral agreements. The actual yield for Cameroon’s public finances is determined by this tariff, the volume of oil transported, and the dollar-FCFA exchange rate.
Transit revenue triples in a decade
Comparing recent data with the first decade of operation reveals a dramatic shift. According to the Pipeline Steering and Monitoring Committee (CPSP), Cameroon earned 85.5 billion FCFA in transit fees during the first eight years after operations began on October 3, 2003. The annual average was approximately 10.7 billion FCFA at the time, compared to 37 billion today. Even over a shorter two-year window, recent collections surpass the eight-year total from the early period by 136.7 billion FCFA.
However, attributing this growth to a single factor requires caution. The pipeline’s revenue depends on the unit tariff per barrel, the volume of oil transported, and the dollar-FCFA exchange rate. Without a public breakdown of the 222.2 billion FCFA, isolating the precise contribution of each variable remains challenging.
Tariff hikes drive revenue surge
Successive increases in the transit tariff have been a key driver of higher earnings. When the pipeline was commissioned, the rate stood at 0.41 USD per barrel. It was first raised in 2013, then again in 2018, reaching 1.321 USD per barrel—more than tripling in 15 years. This directly inflates Cameroon’s income regardless of the volume transported.
A new tariff adjustment was scheduled for October 1, 2023, as per the agreed mechanism. However, no updated rate has been disclosed to date, leaving uncertainty over future revenue trends. Tariff negotiations remain a recurring diplomatic challenge between Yaoundé and N’Djamena.
Context matters in revenue comparisons
Historical analysis requires careful interpretation. COTCO, the operator of the Cameroonian section of the pipeline, reported around 200 billion FCFA remitted to the treasury between 2004 and 2013. This sum included not only transit fees but also corporate taxes and other levies paid by the company. As such, it cannot be directly compared to the 222.2 billion FCFA from 2020-2025, which accounts solely for transit fees. The exact transit portion of the 200 billion FCFA remains undisclosed, making the 85.5 billion from the first eight years the most relevant benchmark.
The latest data reinforces the pipeline’s financial significance. By May 2026, Cameroon had already collected 15.1 billion FCFA in transit fees, according to CPSP figures. While this mid-year snapshot does not predict the full-year outcome, it underscores the pipeline’s critical role in Yaoundé’s oil export revenues. Industry observers highlight that the long-awaited new tariff—expected since October 2023—will be pivotal in shaping future earnings.
