SONARA to Resume Operations in 2027 With Boosted Production Capacity
By Synthia Lateu
The National Oil Refining Company (SONARA) plans to restart refining operations within 24 months under a recovery program dubbed PARRAS 24, adopted on August 13, 2025, during its 139th Board meeting. The plan, set to launch in January 2026, aims to bring the refinery back online in 2027.
The project targets the rehabilitation of four of the thirteen units damaged in the May 2019 fire, with an expected annual output of 3.5 million tons, up from 2.1 million tons before the incident , an increase of 1.4 million tons.
According to SONARA, the PARRAS 24 initiative focuses on three pillars: recapitalizing the company and securing new financing, rehabilitating production units to pre-fire standards, and implementing a workforce plan to upgrade staff competencies.
The strategy draws on a preliminary assessment by French consultancy EKIUM, which confirmed that restoring pre-fire capacity is feasible.
The company described the plan as “a strong signal and a positive indicator” to Cameroonians and international partners of its irreversible progress toward resuming refining activities.
Since the 2019 fire, Cameroon has relied entirely on imports for gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and some domestic gas. The refinery’s absence has weighed heavily on the economy and the CEMAC region. In 2024, BEAC Governor Yvon Sana Bangui urged authorities to accelerate the rehabilitation, warning that continued dependence on imports weakened the region’s external position.
Earlier this year in Buea, Finance Minister Louis Paul Motazé detailed measures to ease SONARA’s financial strain, including the government’s takeover of its tax debt valued at CFA145.4 billion as SONARA remained Cameroon’s most indebted state-owned enterprise.
