(Business in Cameroon) - Cameroon plans to buy 510,000 metric tons of oil products on the international market over the next quarter. Gaston Eloundou Essomba, the Minister of Water and Energy (Minee), has already launched an international call for tenders to select the suppliers. Applicants have until May 13, 2022, to submit bids.

In detail, the government will purchase 165,000 metric tons of super; 255,000 metric tons of diesel; 60,000 metric tons of Jet A1, and 30,000 metric tons of fuel oil 3500. The overall volume is up 120,000 metric tons (or 23.5%) compared to the same period in 2021. Although the minister did not explain this increase in import volume, it comes in a context where Cameroon has recently faced shortages of petroleum products, especially diesel.

Following the fire at the National Refining Company (Sonara), the country's only refinery, on May 31, 2019, Cameroon changed its system for acquiring petroleum products on the international market. This new mechanism consists of the selection, through an international tender, of four traders for a given period. The selected traders are in charge of making available large quantities of petroleum products to supply local marketers and importers with a more competitive level of premiums as a selection criterion.

S.A.