Congo's national oil company, the Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo (SNPC), regulates all oil production and exploration activities in the country. Despite of being one of Africa’s largest oil producing countries with a daily production of around 250,000 barrels per day (2016 figures), there are occasional fuel shortages in the Congo. 

The refinery CORAF in Pointe-Noire produces basically all oil products for the national market such as petrol, diesel, jet fuel etc. However, the supply does not always match the demand and occasionally oil products must be imported to complement. In 2016, CORAF production that has maximum capacity  estimated to around 21,000 bbl/day could satisfy just 42% of the internal demand. The rest was imported.

Fuel is distributed by Société Commune de Logistique Petroliere (SCLOG) and sold on to the market through four marketing companies; TOTAL, PUMA, SNPC, XOIL, AFRIC, SNPC-D, SNAT. SCLOG is mainly supplied from the refinery CORAF and secondarily from Kinshasa and in limited quantities from Cameroun through the entry point of Ouesso. They feed the respective oil depots using ground transport (rail tankers or tanker trucks) or river barges.

SCLOG presently manages eight oil depots with different stocking capacity: Pointe-Noire (65,000m3), Brazzaville (22,300m³), Dolisie (850m³), Mossendjo (900m³), Loutété (300m³), Oyo (4200m³), Ouesso (1700m³) and Impfondo (380m³). Two additional reservoirs of capacity 1000m³ each are planned to be built in Ouesso and Impfondo, the date of final complexion of the works is unknown. 

The fuel authority is the Ministere des Hydrocarbures. Its role include: promote and develop the oil sector, define and elaborate the national policy for an efficient management of the petroleum resources and control the private companies and organisations related to the oil sector. Through SCLOG it assures storage and transport of petrol, diesel, kerosene throughout the whole national territory. Through the control authority Agence de regulation de l’aval petrolier (ARAP) it assures competitiveness, transparency and maximum productivity in the oil sector. Aviation Jet A1-fuel is handled by SNPC who oversees the aircrafts refuelling and the Airports stocks.

Fuel is sold to the market through four marketing companies. Total and SNPC distribution are the two largest companies with the most diversified distribution network and fuel stations, but Puma and Xoil are also major actors. Fuel stations are easily found in the urban centres in the south but are scarcer in the north where the lack of infrastructure makes supply difficult. Impfondo receives most fuel by river barge but during the dry season from January to May the Ubangui river is not navigable and the supply is affected accordingly. Companies and humanitarian organisations in Betou in the north of the Likouala region receive supplies by road from Bangui in neighbouring CAR but there is no regular supply and fuel is generally imported in 200 litre drums.

The Oil Company Total in 2016 started the exploitation of the petrol field Moho Nord 75km off the coasts of Pointe Noire. The project is a joint venture among Total (53,5%), Chevron Overseas Limited 31,5% and SNPC (15%) and will grant at its maximum exploitation stage a daily production of 100,000 barrels per day. The daily production of the Republic of the Congo was of 250,000 barrels in 2016 and will reach the level of 300,000 barrels by the end of 2018.

For more information on government and fuel provider contact details, please see the following links: 4.1 Republic of the Congo Government Contact List and 4.7 Republic of the Congo Fuel Providers Contact List.

Information may also be found at: http://www.mytravelcost.com/petrol-prices/ which is updated monthly. 

Fuel Pricing

Fuel prices are fixed by the Government and a fuel VAT-tax of 18 % is included in the sales price.

Seasonal Variations 

No seasonal variation on prices but certain regions such as Impfondo and Betou receive most of fuel by river barge and since during the dry season from January to May the Ubangi River is not navigable and the supply chain is affected.

During the dry season, private companies and humanitarian organisations located in Betou in north of the Likouala region receive supplies by road from Bangui in neighbouring CAR but there is no regular supply and fuel is generally imported in 200 litre drums.

Fuel Transportation

The internal transportation of fuel is done by tank truck, rail tank wagon or tank barge. SCLOG dispose of 126 owned wagons for the transportation of fuel and as of 2017 is subcontracting 86 tanker trucks. The limited storage capacity just 380m3 in Impfondo, seasonal constraint and lack of infrastructure in not allow regular supply of fuel especially in the northern part of the Country.

Current capacities are not sufficient to meet any increase in demand from the humanitarian community particularly in the north.

Standards, Quality and Testing

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