Limbé, Cameroon's Energy Port: SONARA's 2027 Restart, the Oil-Rig Yard and Gulf of Guinea Security

Most ports sell capacity. Limbé sells energy. At Cape Limboh, on the western edge of the town, tankers berth next to Cameroon's only oil refinery. A few kilometres away, the state shipyard has spent two decades building a yard to repair offshore oil platforms. And along the coast, tanker trucks load palm oil and fuel on wharves that date from the colonial era. When the refinery restarts, as the government now plans for the end of 2027, the Port of Limbé will be at the centre of Cameroon's energy supply chain again.

Cape Limboh: where the refinery meets the sea

The Port of Limbé is not a single harbour. In our documentary, the port's own managers describe it as a chain of terminals stretched along about 70 km of the South-West coast: Tiko in the east, the Bota wharf in the town, Cape Limboh where the refinery stands, and Idenau near the Nigerian border. The Port Authority of Limbé lists four operational hubs and the services that matter to the energy trade: ship-to-ship transfers, bunkering (supplying fuel to ships), transit and warehousing, mooring and towing.

Cape Limboh is the energy terminal. It exists because of the Société Nationale de Raffinage (SONARA), the refinery that for four decades turned imported and local crude into petrol, diesel, kerosene and gas for Cameroon and its neighbours. Its location on deep water at the foot of Mount Cameroon is the reason government planners want the future Limbé deep seaport to specialise in hydrocarbons and heavy cargo.

SONARA's comeback plan

In 2019, a fire shut the Limbé refinery. Since then, Cameroon has imported the fuel it once refined. The rehabilitation plan now has a date and a budget. On 23 December 2025 SONARA's board approved CFA291.9 billion for the first phase, slightly below the CFA300 billion the government had announced. Works are scheduled from January 2026 to December 2027, with the aim of bringing the plant back to its operating configuration of May 2019.

The inspection results are better than many expected: about 75% of the damaged equipment can be reused, 8% must be scrapped and 17% still needs verification. The longer-term plan, reported by Cameroon Concord News and trade press, goes further. It would add units to produce cleaner diesel between 2028 and 2030, and later lift crude processing capacity from about 3.5 to 7 million tonnes a year.

For the port, a working refinery means regular crude deliveries, product exports along the coast and fuel for the ships that call at Cameroon. Bunkering is one of the services the Port Authority of Limbé already advertises. With a refinery next door, it would have a local supply.

The oil-rig yard Cameroon has been building for 20 years

The second energy asset at Cape Limboh is less known. The Chantier Naval et Industriel du Cameroun (CNIC), a shipyard 99.5% owned by the State, repairs ships and mobile drilling platforms in Douala. But Douala's channel is shallow in places, around 5 to 6 metres, which limits the size of rigs that can reach it. That is why CNIC chose Cape Limboh for a dedicated oil-rig repair yard, the Yard Pétrolier de Limbé.

The African Development Bank's appraisal of the project set a clear goal: give Cameroon a share of the market for repairing and building oil platforms across the Gulf of Guinea, one of the world's busiest offshore oil provinces. Works started in 2005 with delivery planned for 2011, and the first phase was costed at about USD 200 million. Progress has been slow. Agence Ecofin reported the yard only 54% complete eleven years after launch. The asset is still there, on deep water, and the offshore industry next door still needs it.

Safer waters in the Gulf of Guinea

Energy investors also look at security. For years the Gulf of Guinea was the world's piracy hotspot. That has changed. According to the International Maritime Bureau's 2025 report, incidents in the region fell from 84 in 2020 to around 20 a year since 2022, with 21 recorded in 2025. The report credits stronger naval patrols and cooperation between coastal states. It also warns that the region still accounted for most crew kidnappings worldwide, so the effort must continue.

In ports, security is measured by the ISPS Code, the international standard for ship and port-facility security. In our film, the National Port Authority says 25 of Cameroon's 28 port facilities subject to the code are certified. "A port can have beautiful facilities," one official told us, "but if it has a reputation for not being safe, no one will want to go there."

What the National Port Authority adds

Behind the individual terminals is the regulator. The National Port Authority (Autorité Portuaire Nationale, APN) plans the national port system, approves port tariffs and checks that operators apply them, and oversees ISPS security. In Limbé, an APN official explains in the documentary that its role is to plan the ports' development, follow the modernisation of existing terminals and support the project to secure the port. It also checks that operators respect environmental standards.

For an energy port, that last point matters. The APN's environmental work, shown in the film, includes a waste traceability manifest and action against soil pollution from hydrocarbon spills. When a refinery and an oil-rig yard share a coastline with beaches, fishing communities and the Limbe Botanic Garden, strong environmental rules are part of what investors are buying.

The energy case for Limbé

• Energy sovereignty. A restarted refinery cuts Cameroon's fuel import bill and secures supply for the CEMAC region.
• Services for the offshore industry. Deep water at Cape Limboh can host rig repair and supply bases that Douala's shallow channel cannot.
• A bunkering stop on a busy route. Ships trading between Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Douala pass Limbé's doorstep.
• A deep seaport in preparation. In 2026 the Prime Minister ordered the Limbé Deep Seaport fast-tracked and opened talks with terminal operator TIL. The plan puts hydrocarbons first.

None of this is finished. The refinery is still being rebuilt, the yard is incomplete and the deep seaport is at the study and negotiation stage. But the building blocks already exist, and few places on the Gulf of Guinea have all three. For the wider picture, read our investment case for the Port of Limbé and our visit to the terminals from Tiko to Idenau.

Related reading: Cameroon's ports: how Douala, Kribi, Limbé and Garoua carry the country's trade.

FAQ

When will the SONARA refinery in Limbé restart?

SONARA's rehabilitation plan runs from January 2026 to December 2027, with a partial restart targeted for the end of 2027. Its board approved a CFA291.9 billion budget in December 2025.

What happened to the SONARA refinery?

A fire in 2019 shut down the Limbé refinery. Since then Cameroon has imported refined products. Inspections found that about 75% of the damaged equipment can be reused.

What is the Limbé oil-rig repair yard?

It is a project by the state shipyard CNIC to build facilities at Cape Limboh for repairing offshore oil platforms, launched in 2005 with a first phase costed at about USD 200 million. It is meant to serve the Gulf of Guinea's offshore industry.

Is the Gulf of Guinea still dangerous for shipping?

Piracy has fallen sharply: the International Maritime Bureau recorded 21 incidents in the region in 2025, against 84 in 2020. Crew kidnappings remain a concern, so regional naval cooperation continues.

Sources: interviews and drone footage recorded for the documentary with the National Port Authority (APN) and the Port Authority of Limbé; Port Authority of Limbé; Business in Cameroon; Cameroon Concord News; African Development Bank; ICC International Maritime Bureau.

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