Energy in Chad

Energy in Chad is an industry with plenty of potential.

Oil

Although Chad lacks coal, natural gas, and hydroelectric sources, the country does have crude oil reserves that as of January 1, 2004, have been placed at 900 million barrels (140,000,000 m³), with production in 2003 at 36,000 barrels per day (5,700 m³/d). Continental Oil (now ConocoPhillips), in association with Royal Dutch Shell, struck oil in the Kanem area, north of Lake Chad, in 1978, and wells briefly produced 1,500 barrels per day (240 m³/d) (about 80% of national consumption) before fighting disrupted the operation in 1980. An ExxonMobil-led consortium drilled eight wells in the south during 1985–86. In 1988, interest in the region renewed, and in November 1996 Exxon and the government of Chad signed an agreement outlining the development of oil reserves in the Doba basin. In July 2003 the first oil began to be pumped following the completion of the Chad-Cameroon pipeline, which was built with the aid of a US$93 million loan from the World Bank. A second project to develop oil fields in the Sedigi Basin (with reserves put at 150 million barrels (24,000,000 m³)) has been delayed. The problem arose after it was found that the pipeline to carry oil from the Sedigi Basin to a refinery and power plant in the capital of N'Djamena was of such poor quality that it could not be used.

Power

All of Chad's power plants are thermal. The two at N'Djamena provide most of the national output. As of 2002, only around 2 percent of the households in Chad had access to electricity and the majority of the country's population must rely upon wood for fuel. Production of electricity rose from about 31 GWh in 1968 to 92 GWh in 2000, and 101 GWh in 2002, all generated by fossil fuels. In 2002, consumption of electricity in Chad totalled 94 GWh. Installed capacity in 2002 was 29 MW.

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Library of Congress Country Studies website http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/.