Petrochemicals · Markets & applications
Markets & applications
Who these molecules serve: agriculture, construction, industry — and the oil upstream itself. Four outlets, one principle: replace an import with local production.
The outlets
Four markets, one principle
Each of these markets currently imports what the complex could make. That is what makes the value chain defensible: the demand already exists — it is simply served from far away.
Agriculture
The largest outlet by volume. Urea and NPK blends produced on Sédigui gas reach the field without crossing a continent — or carrying its price. National demand starts low — ~35,000 t/yr all formulas, ~6.5 kg/ha against the 50 targeted by the Abuja Declaration (FAO data, 2022–2023) — and the unit is sized for that reality, and for its growth.
Urea · NPK · agricultural sovereigntyConstruction & infrastructure
The country imports the bitumen that builds and maintains its roads. Heavy refining residues can supply it, close to the worksites.
Bitumen · roads · maintenanceIndustry & energy
Methanol, sulphur, LPG and solvents supply industry, laboratories and workshops — imported today, produced regionally tomorrow.
Methanol · sulphur · LPGOil upstream
Petrochemicals also serve the well. Surfactants, polymers and ASP formulations make enhanced recovery possible without depending on a long import chain.
ASP · surfactants · EOR inputsThe substitution
Substituting imports, line by line
The logic of the value chain fits in one column: what Chad buys abroad today — including ~$840 m of refined petroleum products imported in 2024 (sector data) — and what the complex would let it produce at home.
| Product | Current situation | EnerTchad’s answer | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrogen fertilisers | Imported, hauled from very far, at a price the farmer endures | Gas → ammonia → urea and NPK chain | Fertiliser produced at the local price |
| Bitumen | Imported to build and maintain the road network | Upgrading of heavy refining residues | Chadian bitumen for the worksites |
| EOR inputs | Imported recovery chemistry: expensive, slow, dependent | Surfactants and polymers co-developed on local natron | Sovereign inputs, controlled costs |
| Methanol & solvents | Imported for industry, workshops and laboratories | Methanol unit on syngas | National, then regional supply |
| Sulphur | A co-product of gas treatment, currently without an outlet | Recovery, conditioning and market placement | A co-product turned into revenue |
Substitution targets · company in formation. Volumes and prices will depend on supply agreements and on each phase’s investment decisions.
The 2026 backdrop
The fertiliser world has shifted — in favour of local gas
Three public, dated facts strengthen the complex’s gas → fertiliser thesis. They do not replace investment decisions — they sharpen their context.
The 2026 price shock
The World Bank projects urea near ~$700/t in 2026 (+60% year on year) and fertilisers up 31%, driven by natural gas — 80–90% of ammonia’s cost. Producing on gas that is flared today decouples Chadian fields from that shock.
Urea ~$700/t · gas = 80–90% of costA continent still importing
Sub-Saharan Africa still imports 80–90% of its mineral fertilisers. Every tonne produced in Chad closes that gap where it costs the most — in the heart of the continent.
80–90% imported · landlocked SahelThe giants don’t serve the landlocked
Nigeria (Dangote, Indorama) is heading towards 8 Mt/yr of urea and already exports. But urea that travels to the Sahel carries the corridor’s price — the same argument behind our fuels thesis underpins the fertiliser thesis: proximity is a premium.
Corridor = cost · proximity = premiumThe counterparts
Who we are already talking to
A value chain is built with its customers, not after them. Three families of counterparts can open the discussion before the first unit even exists.
Cooperatives & agribusiness
Fertiliser volumes, season calendar, packaging: size the urea/NPK chain on real demand rather than on an assumption.
Size the demandContractors & public works owners
Road contractors and public procurement bodies: qualify local bitumen and secure an outlet ahead of the investment.
Qualify the productOperators & manufacturers
Oil operators for EOR inputs, manufacturers for methanol and solvents: co-develop the specifications that matter to them.
Co-develop the specsContinue in Petrochemicals