The market also seems to be growing, although it is hard to say how fast. What does seem clear is that companies in the market today are seeing good results.

Lube Demand rising?

Data about Cameroons lubricant market is scarce. The governments National Institute of Statistics publishes demand information on several sectors of the petroleum industry but not lubricants. If suppliers in the country have estimates, they are not sharing. Kline & Co. consultants calculated lubricant demand in the country at 40,000 metric tons for 2011, but the Parsippany, New Jersey, United States, firm acknowledged that its estimate was not based on a detailed analysis of the Cameroon market but was instead part of a shallower review of several African states.

Based on interviews with numerous lubricant suppliers and government officials, LubesnGreases did find broad agreement that demand in the country is growing at a significant pace. One would certainly expect this, given demographic and economic trends. Like much of Africa, a prolonged period of peace and political stability has enabled growth in Cameroons population and economy. According to the World Bank, the population topped 20 million in 2012, up from 16.8 million over the past decade. Cameroons economy grew 42 percent from 2006 to 2011, reaching U.S. $25.5 billion. That made its economy 13th largest out of 52 nations on the continent.

As noted by Ako Akingue, maintenance chief at Sonara, operator of the nations only oil refinery, more people and a bigger economy usually means more vehicles, more consumption and more goods moving around the country – all of which increase lubricant demand. Like other sources for this article, Akingue spoke to LubesnGreases during interviews in September and November.

Industry sources cite another factor for contributing to growth of the lubricant market – liberalization of the oil products industry, which, according to them, released pent up demand. The Cameroon Oil Deposit Co. (SCDP) was created in 1979 and charged with ensuring the quality of oil products sold within the country. A public-private joint venture – the government owns a 51 percent stake, suppliers the remaining 49 percent -SCDP is also directed to make sure that the population has access to oil products where they live.

Before the turn of the century, neither of these goals was being met. A few big multinational oil companies dominated the retail market for fuels and other petroleum products, and outlets were generally confined to high-traffic areas of towns and cities. Cameroonians recall frequent lines for engine oils as well as fuels and being unable to obtain the lubricants preferred for their vehicles. It was common to see vehicles left along roads while their drivers went off in search of engine oil or brake fluid.

A lot of time and money were wasted because people could not get the lubricants needed to keep their vehicles operating smoothly, recalled Eko Princely, who drives a bus between the towns of Limbe and Kumba.

To address these problems, the government in 2001 relaxed rules governing who could supply petroleum products and where they could locate. That same year First Oil became the first domestic company to supply lubes, and others followed. The difference in availability today is dramatic, as fuel stations and other lube outlets can be found in urban areas and rural villages, in commercial districts and residential neighborhoods.

Oil Majors Depart

The exit of oil majors may not have increased demand, but it created enormous opportunities for suppliers that remained in the market and new ones that entered. At one time, Cameroons leading lubricant suppliers were all international oil companies. But BP and Italys Agip both left Cameroon in the 1990s, and Shell, ExxonMobil and Chevron sold or ceased operations there between 2006 and 2010. Leaving Cameroon was part of a broader strategy that saw them depart from numerous African countries. The big oil companies generally explained their actions by stating that they wanted to redirect resources to parts of their operations that were more profitable.

Other suppliers, however, were attracted by the void that was left. A number of companies entered Cameroons market, and they generally fell into one of two categories: domestic start-ups including Tradex, Petrolex, Blessing Oil, Green Oil, Bocom and Socaepe; and foreign regional marketers such as Libyas OiLibya, Nigerias Corlay, U.S.-based Bardahl Manufacturing, the Greek firm Eldons Oil and South Africas Viscol.

Total is the one big international oil company that has remained all along, and it is by far the market leader. The National Institute of Statistics estimates that Total has 43 percent of the market, followed by Corlay (25 percent), Tradex (13 percent), OiLibya (12 pecent), Camoco, Socaepe and Bocom (2 percent each) and Petrolex (1 per-cent). NIS also estimates that domestic companies together account for 20 percent of sales. Socaepe is headquartered in the capital city of Yaounde, but all of the other locals are based in Douala, the countrys economic hub.

Filling a void

All of the companies interviewed for this article said their sales volumes are growing.

At the beginning, we were expanding at a snails pace, an official at Tradex said, referring to the early period after the companys founding in 1999. This individual spoke on condition that they not be identified. But now the rise in demand has taken off so much that it seems a mystery.

Tradex sells automotive and industrial lubricants under its own brand, but imports them from Spain. It has a chain of 32 fuel stations that serve as outlets for automotive lubes, and it also makes direct sales to manufacturers, agricultural customers and construction companies.

Corlay Cameroon, a subsidiary of Lagos, Nigeria-based MRS Holdings, has a similar structure but a larger chain of stations – 130 and counting. Corlay bought Chevrons Texaco downstream operations in several West African nations in 2009, three years after Chevron acquired Shells operations in Cameroon.

Lubricant director Serges Donfack said that much of Corlays lubes sales are conducted with car and truck operators seeking oil changes at its stations.

Every day, fleets of trucks and cars are visiting us for services, he said. Some are customers who stayed with us after Texaco left. Donfack added that Corlays lubricant strategy in Cameroon is based partly on having a nationwide presence and partly on low prices. Some of the lubes that it sells in Cameroon are made at the SCEFL blending plant in Douala, a joint venture between OiLibya, Total and Corlay, while others come from a Corlay plant in Lagos. Corlay markets them under its MRS brand.

Sales by Petrolex have taken off so much that the company has difficulty keeping up with orders, according to Djouonhou Charles-Rodrique, the lubricant service head of Petrolex. He noted that some of the majors that left the market still have a presence even though they do not have operations in the country. ExxonMobil sold its downstream operations in Cameroon and other countries to OiLibya in 2006 (the two companies completed a similar deal involving four other African companies two years later) but continues exporting Esso- and Mobil-branded lubricants to a number of countries where they are sold by local distributors. Petrolex markets Mobil lubes in Cameroon, and Charles-Rodrique said they remain popular.

An official at Total said its lubricant sales have continued rising since the other majors departed but otherwise declined to comment. Total has historically had a strong presence in Cameroon, going back to the nations years as a French colony.

Blessing Petroleum is one of the newest arrivals to the market, having been founded just two years ago. A year ago it reached an agreement to become Engen Petroleums exclusive distributor of lubricants in Cameroon. Engen is based in South Africa and was looking to expand in Cameroon.

Ngumatcha Bodulaire, who heads Blessings lubricant operations, said the company is increasing sales in several cities, including Douala, Yaounde, Limbe and Buea. Like some of its competitors, it operates fuel stations where it sells automotive lubes. Bodulaire said it pitches those products on their African origins (Engen exports them from South Africa) and that its strategy is based largely on low prices and offerings of extra services, such as cleaning windshields and checking air filters in conjunction with oil changes.

Plenty of imports

The SCEFL plant is the only lubricant blending facility in Camerooon. Sources said they know of no plans to construct another.

While some foreign suppliers market lubes produced in their home countries, as Corlay does, sources said there are significant volumes imported from countries such as Senegal and United Arab Emirates by both foreign and domestic suppliers.

Individuals interviewed for this article say the low quality of products is a problem, as it is in many African lube markets, but they added that it is gradually improving as economic growth leads to end users having more expensive vehicles and equipment to protect.

It appears that Cameroons lubricant market is in for more gradual change for the foreseeable future. That should allow some time for the dust to settle.