(Business in Cameroon) - On July 18, 2014, Cameroonian Head of State, Paul Biya, enacted legislation authorising the ratification of the agreement struck between the Cameroonian and Nigerian governments on October 30, 2013 “regarding the transit of fuel from the Republic of Nigeria across Cameroon and its evacuation via the Chad-Cameroon pipeline.” The law was adopted by the Cameroonian parliament at the June 2014 session.

With the agreement being made official between the two countries, Cameroon will have to “not only take advantage of its strategically advantageous geographic location to promote sub-regional cooperation in fuels,” but also ensure “substantial growth in the country’s revenue by way of transit rights,” maintained the Minister of Mining, Emmanuel Bonde, defending the bill before members of parliament.

Transit rights were adjusted on October 29, 2013, moving from 195 FCFA (0.41 dollars) per barrel, 618 FCFA (1.30 dollars) per barrel. This enabled the Cameroonian Treasury Department to bring in 6.5 billion FCFA in first four months of 2014, which is the equivalent of the sums generated by the same transit fee over a period of 11 months in 2013.