Cameroon's oil output rose nearly 20% in 2016

Cameroon's crude oil production rose 19.4%, or 12.3 million barrels (MMbbl), between January and April compared with a year earlier, the state oil company SNH said on June 7, without giving a reason for the higher production.

The Central African country has been pumping oil since 1977, hitting a peak of 185 Mbbl/d 10 years later before slipping.

National Hydrocarbons Corp. (SNH) said in a statement that gas production, however, fell 5.8% compared with the same period last year, due to a decline in demand for gas from its Kribi gas plant.

Cameroon earned the equivalent of US$142 million, in CFA francs, from its oil and gas activities between January and April, SNH said.

The state firm also announced it had begun field work on its floating LNG gas project, an export plant which is being developed by Norwegian shipping company Golar LNG and is due to start production in 2017. ($1 = FCFA 577.10)