Equatorial Guinea to take back Tradex-leased fuel depots
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Radiomacuto
Equatorial Guinea’s Vice-President Teodoro Nguema Obiang has announced that the state will take back fuel depots leased by Tradex Equatorial Guinea as the country faces its third shortage of the year. The decision comes less than a week after a fine of 500 million CFA francs was imposed on the subsidiary of Cameroon’s National Hydrocarbons Corporation, Radio Macuto reports.
Equatorial Guinea’s Vice-President Teodoro Nguema Obiang announced on 20 October that the state would take back the fuel depots leased to Tradex Equatorial Guinea, a subsidiary of Cameroon’s National Hydrocarbons Corporation. The announcement followed a crisis meeting on the country’s third petrol shortage of the year, Radio Macuto reports.
Tradex operates 12 petrol stations and had committed to importing 10,000 tonnes of fuel in November and December. Less than a week before the announcement, the company had been fined 500 million CFA francs. According to Cameroonian business outlet Ecomatin, the takeover of the depots is part of a plan to make state-owned Equatorial Guinean company Gepetrol Servicios the official distributor. It has 32 sales outlets, compared with 30 for TotalEnergies.
The plan also provides for the creation of a large-capacity storage depot and, eventually, a national refinery. The Ministry of Mines and Gepetrol Servicios are also to review Tradex’s consumption over the past five years. The company already operates a depot at the port of Luba, intended to supply ships.
Radio Macuto reports that Tradex presented an investment of 10 billion CFA francs for 2026 in November 2025, intended in particular to build four petrol stations and a depot. The subsidiary recorded turnover of 59 billion CFA francs in Equatorial Guinea in 2024.
Summary produced with the help of artificial intelligence tools, under AFREEQUE’s editorial responsibility.
