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From Africa Recovery, Vol.17 #3 (October 2003), page 24 CHAD-CAMEROON Chad formally joined the ranks of oil-producing countries on 10 October. That day marked the official inauguration of a $3.7 bn petroleum mining and pipeline project that links some 300 wells in the Chadian interior with an offshore loading facility 1,000 kilometres away in Cameroon. Over the 25-year life of the Doba Basin oil fields, the project is expected to generate $2 bn in additional revenue for Chad, among the poorest countries in the world, and $500 mn for the government of Cameroon. The project is jointly owned by two US oil companies, Exxon-Mobil and Chevron-Texaco, and the Malaysian company Petronas, and was built with nearly $300 mn in loans from the World Bank. To secure World Bank support for the project, the Chadian
government has agreed to a stringent set of controls on the handling
and disbursements of the oil revenues. By law, 80 per cent
of the revenue will be invested in health, education, transportation
and other economic development infrastructure, with 10 per
cent set aside for future investment. To ensure transparency,
expenditures will be monitored by a committee that includes parliamentarians
and members of civil society, while compliance with environmental
and human rights standards will be monitored by international
agencies. Bank officials argue that the pipeline project could
become a model for the responsible exploitation of mineral resources
in a region where oil wealth has often contributed to political
instability, human rights abuses and environmental pollution.
These stipulations followed early criticism of the project by
Chadian and international human rights and environmental groups,
which prompted the World Bank and other participants to make
significant changes in its management and construction. This article may be freely reproduced, with attribution to
"Africa Recovery, United Nations". Africa Recovery Tel: (212) 963-6857
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