Chad’s oil creates more problems than it solves

In just under 30 months, Chad has become a typical oil-producing, African country, with allegations of rampant corruption, an ongoing fight with the World Bank and a burgeoning rebellion along the eastern border while the population remains dirt poor.

Chad was touted by many for having a model oil program when the central African country began exporting oil in October 2003. Two-thirds of revenues went to projects aimed to improve living standards in one of the world’s poorest countries.

..The paradox extends to infrastructure. Residents of the capital, N’djamena, suffer daily power outages and look with envy toward the oil fields in southern Chad, which can generate 120 megawatts a year while N’djamena currently needs 30 megawatts.

The oil fields have that huge generating capacity “to meet growing operational needs,” said Susan Reeves, a spokeswoman for ExxonMobil.

She explained that Chad does not have a national grid and each city uses local generators to provide and distribute electricity, so it is currently impossible to share the power.

Sudan Tribune