- For the first time, Chadian oil is processed at a refinery to be sold on the international market. As shipments of crudes from the Doba fields have reached refineries in Wales, Chad thus has joined the exclusive list of oil exporting countries. The Chadian economy is about to be revolutionised.
The Pembroke Refinery in south west Wales (UK) has successfully processed its first shipment of Doba crude from the oil fields of Chad in interior of Central Africa, following completion of a US$ 12.8 million project to enable the plant to run the crude. The refinery is owned and operated by Texaco Ltd, a subsidiary of the oil multinational ChevronTexaco, which made the announcement today.
Des King, General Manager at Pembroke, said that "refining a crude oil such as Doba is a highly specialised process and there are only a few plants in the world with the capability to do so." Pembroke Refinery was identified by ChevronTexaco as one of a handful of refineries in the world with the capability to adapt equipment and devise processes to refine Doba crude, which is a heavy, acidic blend similar to the North Sea crude oil currently refined at Pembroke, but with a higher calcium content.
According to Jan Skippins, ChevronTexaco's Supply Optimisation Manager and team leader for the first three stages of the Doba/Pembroke project, Pembroke was the obvious choice when the question of Doba's unusual blend arose. "In terms of the systems in place, Pembroke was the most experienced in running acid crudes as it already handles acidic crude from the UK North Sea Captain field," she said.
- But the Doba blend was particularly challenging, Ms Skippins added. This was "because as well as its acidic nature, there was also the high calcium content - some 250 parts per million. It's something not usually seen on this scale."
The special Doba blend of crude oil comes from three oil fields in southern Chad - Bolobo, Miandoum and Kome. A 1,000-kilometre pipeline from Chad to Cameroon has been constructed to transport the crude through eastern Cameroon to the export terminal facility at Kribi in the Gulf of Guinea. ChevronTexaco is a 25 percent participant in the Chad-Cameroon development project along with ExxonMobil (operator, with 40 percent) and Malaysia's Petronas (35 percent).
For landlocked Chad, the Word Bank-financed construction of the pipeline finally opened up opportunities to export the long-known oil resources in its southern parts. After the recent opening of the pipeline in a ceremony in Kribi, the Doba oil has started flowing southwards to the Cameroonian coastal town.
As the Doba crudes now have reached their Welsh refinery and have been successfully processed, Chadian oil is for the first time traded on the world market. N'djamena authorities could not be luckier with the timing, as oil prices are currently at record levels. Relatively high prices are a necessity as the Chadian oil has higher than average production costs.
Chad is one of the world's poorest countries and most inhabitants depend on subsistence agriculture. While living standards are still extremely low, Chadian authorities have pledged to spend a substantial part of the new oil revenues on poverty reduction and improved social services.
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