Chad has rich mineral resources. In addition to oil, the country has gold, diamonds, bauxite, uranium, soda and salt.
At the beginning of the 21st century, exploitation of large oil deposits in the Doba region in the south began. Production reached a peak in 2004. Since then, the quotas have been reduced to about half the level as some sources have begun to grow and the pumping equipment has aged. In 2013, oil accounted for 60 percent of export earnings. Since then, the international fall in oil prices has reduced the oil’s share of exports. The discovery of new oil sources has raised hopes of a future increase in production.
COUNTRYAAH: Major exports by Chad with a full list of the top products exported by the country. Includes trade value in U.S. dollars and the percentage for each product category.
The US oil companies Chevron and Exxonmobil as well as Malaysian Petronas are responsible for the oil exploration. Several other companies, including Chinese, are looking for oil in other parts of the country. A Chinese company has built a refinery with associated power plants north of N’Djamena (see also Foreign Policy and Defense). The export of oil for export is via a pipeline from Chad to the Cameroonian port city of Kribi.
There is a gold mine in the south run by a South Korean company. Some gold is extracted by private individuals who wash gold in watercourses and sell what they find to support themselves.
Soda is extracted for use in soap making and tanning.
Electricity shortages are a major obstacle to economic growth. Only a few percent of households have access to electricity, which is mainly extracted from oil-fired power plants. Electricity prices are among the highest in the world. Firewood is the most important source of energy at the local level, which contributes to reducing the country’s tree population.
Abbreviationfinder: A popular acronym site in the world covering abbreviation for each country. For example, CD stands for Chad. Visit itypeusa for more information about Chad.
Declining rainfall, climate change and irrigation in agriculture have caused Lake Chad to lose 90 percent of its area since the early 1960s. Together with the destruction of the land (see Agriculture and Fisheries), this is a serious environmental threat to the region. The lake supplies 68 million people in the surrounding countries with water. There are plans to divert water from the basin of the Congo River to make the lake bigger again. Oil extraction also causes environmental problems in the south where oil spills destroy agricultural land. The extraction of gold and uranium also poses a threat as there is a risk that mining will cause toxic leakage in nature.
FACTS – ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT
Carbon dioxide emissions in total
730,000 tonnes (2014)
Carbon dioxide emissions per inhabitant
0.1 ton (2014)
The share of energy from renewable sources
89.4 percent (2015)
2013
November
The Prime Minister resigns
After only ten months, Prime Minister Dadnadji resigned after 74 members of his own party demanded a vote of no confidence against him in Parliament. They accuse him of incompetence and of ordering “arbitrary arrests” by parliamentarians. The criticism is based on the arrests made after an alleged coup attempt (see May 2013). Economist Kalzeubet Pahimi Deubet, who was most recently the head of the semi-state cotton company, is named new prime minister.
October
Chad into the UN Security Council
Chad is for the first time elected to the UN Security Council at one of Africa’s two locations. Chad has been criticized for using child soldiers, but the country’s active participation in UN peacekeeping efforts has been highlighted as a strong argument before the vote.
July
Habré is charged with genocide
Chad’s President Habré is arrested in Senegal and charged there with war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture and genocide in a specially established court.
May
Four Habré employees are being prosecuted
The government is prosecuting four fugitive employees of former President Hissène Habré and issuing international arrest warrants against them. They are accused of various abuses during Habré’s regime. Habré himself is due to appear before a special court in Senegal, where he lives on the run. Of the four now charged, two live in France, one in Canada and one in Cameroon.
“Coup attempt has been averted”
The authorities announce that a coup attempt has been rejected. Two generals and two MPs, including a representative of the government coalition, have been arrested. Some people must also have been killed in a fire in the outskirts of the capital N’Djamena.
April
Soldiers are taken home from Mali
President Déby announces that the approximately 2,000 Chadian soldiers who have been participating in an international campaign against an Islamist insurgency in Mali since the beginning of the year will gradually be taken home. Chad has lost about 30 people in the fighting in Mali, which is more than any other country in the French-led alliance.
March
UFR threatens to take up arms again
The UFR rebel movement threatens to take up arms again against the government, which the rebels accuse of not having fulfilled a 2010 promise to start peace talks. UFR dropped weapons in 2010 following a peace deal between Chad and Sudan.
January
The Prime Minister resigns
Emmanuel Nadingar resigns as Prime Minister and is replaced by Djimrangar Dadnadji. He has held several ministerial posts in the past and has most recently served as head of the presidential staff. The change is seen as completely undramatic and follows a pattern that the prime minister has never sat for more than two three years.
Chad sends soldiers to Mali
Chad decides to send 2,000 troops to Mali to support French troops trying to fight back an Islamist insurgency.
