Dangote Group is considering a petroleum products storage terminal in Cameroon. The project could create a new outlet for fuels produced at its Lekki refinery in Nigeria, while strengthening the company’s presence in Cameroon and across Central Africa.
What Dangote Proposed
Devakumar Edwin, Dangote Group’s Vice President for Oil, Gas and Fertilizer, presented the proposal to Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute on July 21. The plan remains at the discussion stage.
According to Edwin, the company wants to explore developing a storage facility that would help build Cameroon’s strategic petroleum reserves and improve the country’s fuel supply security. The project could also include a pipeline network to transport refined products cutting logistics costs and limiting the environmental impact of road transport.
What’s Still Unknown
No agreement followed the meeting. Dangote has yet to disclose the proposed location, storage capacity, investment value, or development timeline. The company also hasn’t indicated whether it intends to own and operate the terminal, partner with a state-owned company, or develop the project through a concession or public-private partnership.
Those details will be critical in assessing the project’s significance. Fuel storage is a tightly regulated business because of its role in industrial safety, taxation, strategic reserves, and supply security.
Cameroon’s National Petroleum Storage Company (SCDP) is currently the country’s main operator in the segment, managing petroleum storage and distribution nationwide, including the government’s strategic fuel reserves. If Dangote proceeds, authorities will need to determine how the facility would fit into the country’s fuel supply chain alongside SCDP, fuel importers, distributors, and sector regulators.
Kribi Already Preparing Major Storage Expansion
Dangote’s interest comes as Cameroon is already preparing two major fuel storage projects in the port city of Kribi.
- SCDP’s terminal: planned capacity of 230,000 cubic meters for refined products (gasoline, kerosene, and diesel), plus storage for 40,000 metric tons of liquefied petroleum gas. This would nearly double SCDP’s current liquid fuel storage capacity, officially estimated at about 245,500 cubic meters, while significantly expanding domestic LPG storage.
- CSTAR’s terminal: developed by CSTAR Tank Farm Project Management owned by Ariana Energy (49%), Tradex (31%), and Cameroon’s National Hydrocarbons Corporation (20%). It plans an initial storage capacity of 250,000 to 300,000 cubic meters for diesel, gasoline, aviation fuel, kerosene, and heavy fuel oil, at an estimated cost of about CFA 168 billion.
Combined, the SCDP and CSTAR projects would add at least 480,000 cubic meters of liquid fuel storage capacity not counting any future expansion of the CSTAR terminal.
A New Export Hub for the Lekki Refinery
For Dangote, a storage terminal in Cameroon would serve more than the country’s strategic fuel reserves. It could also become an import and distribution hub for refined products from the group’s 650,000-barrel-per-day Lekki refinery, which was designed to supply Nigeria while exporting part of its production to regional markets.
A terminal on Cameroon’s Atlantic coast would give Dangote a logistics base to serve the domestic market and landlocked countries that rely on Cameroonian ports particularly Chad and the Central African Republic.
This strategy would let the company position fuel inventories closer to end markets, shorten delivery times, and improve regional distribution. For Cameroon, the project could diversify fuel supply sources provided Dangote’s products stay competitive and the project fits within the country’s pricing, taxation, and strategic stockholding framework.
A Potential Shift in Cameroon’s Fuel Supply Chain
If it moves forward, the project could reshape Cameroon’s petroleum storage market, though its future remains uncertain.
Its success will depend on government approvals, the partnership model ultimately adopted, the project’s financial viability, and how it integrates with the public-sector initiatives already under development in Kribi.
Dangote’s proposal also comes as Cameroon seeks to address a shortage of fuel storage capacity. The government has presented the new Kribi terminals as part of its response to supply disruptions and inadequate infrastructure. The Nigerian group’s project could complement those investments or compete with them for access to port land, financing, pipeline infrastructure, and fuel volumes.
Dangote already has a presence in Cameroon through its cement plant in Douala, and is now looking to expand into the country’s downstream petroleum sector. For now, though, the proposal remains an expression of intent, with its industrial and financial details still to be defined.
