The Cameroonian government says it will begin the importation of oil on Tuesday following an outbreak of fire which damaged four units of its only refinery.

Minister of Water Resources and Energy Gaston Eloundou Essomba said in Douala that the four units had been shut down due to the damage caused by the fire.

The 42,000 barrel-per-day Sonara refinery in Limbe declared a force majeure on Saturday after a tank exploded, causing a fire that halted output.

“Flames consumed four of the 13 production units, stopping all the Sonara refining process,” Essomba said late on Sunday.

“The market will remain supplied by imports.”

Sonara, which is almost entirely state-owned apart from a 4 per cent stake held by Total, has a capacity of 2.1 million tonnes of crude a year.

It serves the whole country, so any delay in getting it back up and running has the potential to cause severe fuel shortages.

(Reuters/NAN)