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U.S. Government Grants help Cameroon’s oil and Gas Sector
PRESS RELEASE
U.S. Ambassador Janet Garvey awarded two U.S. Trade Development Agency (TDA) grants September 14 to aid Cameroon's Ministry of Energy and Water Resources (MINEE) in the expansion of the country’s oil and gas sector. The two grants, totaling $1,230,000 (553,500,000 FCFA), will support MINEE's efforts to develop Cameroon's hydrocarbon resources by analyzing the requirements for a gas-to-market system and a petroleum products pipeline.
Cameroon possesses significant natural gas reserves, but almost 90 percent of the gas in the offshore oilfield is currently lost due to flaring. MINEE is seeking a means to eliminate the environmental impact of flaring by commercializing Cameroon’s natural gas reserves. The first of the two USTDA grants supports this effort by funding a study for a system to capture gas offshore, transport it to a plant for conversion to industrial methane, and transmit the methane to customers throughout the country via a series of pipelines. It is envisioned that one customer for the methane might be the proposed Limbe Gas-To-Electricity project, which involves the conversion of an existing 85 MW heavy fuel-oil reciprocating power plant and the concomitant green-field construction of a 315 MW combined cycle gas-turbine power plant.
The second grant awarded to MINEE, valued at $615,000 (132,225,000 FCFA), will help establish a more efficient and effective means of distributing refined petroleum products in Cameroon. At present, the primary means of distributing refined petroleum products in Cameroon is via surface transport. This traffic is beginning to overwhelm the country’s road and rail infrastructure and is serving as an impediment to economic growth. The grant will support MINEE’s efforts to develop a better approach to petroleum product transport in Cameroon by funding a feasibility study, including a preliminary environmental study, on a proposed pipeline project that would link the country’s refinery at Limbe to distribution centers and terminals throughout the country.
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency advances economic development and U.S. commercial interests in developing and middle-income countries. The agency funds various forms of technical assistance, feasibility studies, training, orientation visits and business workshops that support the development of a modern infrastructure and a fair and open trading environment.
For more information about the USTDA, visit www.ustda.gov