Chad - Energy and power

Chad lacks both coal and sources of hydroelectricity. Continental Oil Co., in association with Shell Oil, struck oil in the Kanem area, north of Lake Chad, in 1978, and wells briefly produced 1,500 barrels a day (about 80% of national consumption) before fighting disrupted the operation in 1980. An Exxon-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. Reserves were estimated at 900 million barrels. As of late 2002, work was underway on development of the basin's oil fields and construction of a pipeline between Cameroon and Chad, with the aid of a $93 million loan from the World Bank. Production was expected to begin in early 2004. A second project to develop oil fields in the Sedigi Basin was still in the planning stages as of 2002. The World Bank has agreed to partially fund this project, which would include a pipeline to transport crude oil found north of Lake Chad to a planned refinery at N'Djamena. As of 2000, Chad imported 100% of its petroleum requirement from Cameroon and Nigeria. Oil provides nearly all of Chad's commercial energy.

All power plants are thermal. The two at N'Djamena provide most of the national output. As of 2002, only 2% of the households in Chad had access to electricity. Production of electricity rose from about 31 million kWh in 1968 to 92 million kWh in 2000, of which all was from fossil fuels. In the same year, consumption was 85.6 million kWh. Installed capacity in 2001 was 29,000 kW.