Seven years after the devastating fire at the Sonara refinery, its managing director took the podium and solemnly announced to the world’s media that the company is being reborn on Monday, June 29, 2026. Observers had expected at least a memorandum of understanding with a financial partner. Instead, the announcement came after a meeting organized by four ministers to assess the reconstruction costs and financing arrangements, before even approaching the market to find partners.

The selected financing model is Design-Build-Finance-Maintain (DBFM), which covers the design, construction, financing, and maintenance of the infrastructure.

If after seven years since the Sonara fire the process has only reached this stage, how much longer will it take to find a partner who, following typical Cameroonian procedures, signs a deal and then turns to banks for funding? This pattern is already visible with mining partners, unlike practices elsewhere.

The shadow of SNH and Nathalie Moudiki

Looking at the timing, this communication comes just days after Cameroonian business leaders, through their president Célestin Tawamba, congratulated SNH on the new Kribi refinery under construction – a project spearheaded by Nathalie Moudiki. The Gecam president spoke in an international media outlet.

The stakes behind appointments are clear

In reality, what happened yesterday was a simple communication aimed at bluffing the President of the Republic, precisely while he was in Switzerland reassessing the performance of those he appointed to support him and serve the people.

In its statement, Sonara used language intended to appeal to Cameroonians, mentioning an hydrocracker unit that will refine Cameroonian crude. However, this project was already underway before the fire and is already incorporated into the Kribi refinery.

The sabotage of the Kribi refinery

“When you see whistleblowers lurking in the shadows attacking individuals involved in projects, think twice.”

Since yesterday, Boris Bertolt has been posting incendiary statements against the SNH refinery project, making unfounded claims aimed at damaging Nathalie Moudiki’s reputation. Why sabotage the Kribi refinery project on the same day Sonara makes its comeback? Meanwhile, SNH acknowledges the role of this historic company, Sonara.

Regarding Sonara’s rehabilitation, in 2020 a high-level delegation from Russian giant Lukoil was received in Yaoundé to present a reconstruction plan with modern equipment. The government did not respond favorably.

Regime supporters, who favor imports through traders, cite sovereignty concerns to justify rejecting potential partners. Yet Africa’s largest oil refinery, located in the second-largest African oil producer, is privately owned. The Dangote refinery does not belong to the Nigerian state, yet it refines over 60% of the country’s crude oil.

Why is the SNH model (for gas) not applied to Sonara (for oil)?

The large Lobito refinery in Angola is built by China, the Copperbelt refinery in Zambia by China. Uganda’s first oil refinery is being built by Russia, and another is planned in the Republic of Congo.

Cameroonians, let us pray.