The Parliamentary Committee on Production and Trade on Wednesday examined the Gas Code Bill.

Members of the National Assembly Committee on Production and Trade yesterday March 28, 2012 examined the bill to institute a Gas Code in Cameroon. The Minister of Energy and Water Resources, Basile Atangana Kouna, defended the bill, assisted by the Minister of Mines, Industries and Technological Development, Emmanuel Bonde, in the presence of the Vice Prime Minister, Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Relations with the Assemblies, Amadou Ali.

The bill contains innovations that seek to correct the shortcomings of the 2002 Gas Code. Government in the bill has proposed adjustments and additions required for it to become a modern and effective tool for promoting investment in the gas sector and building local capacities. The key innovations include the planning of natural gas resource development as well as concluding gas agreements with companies having the required technical and financial resources to invest in natural gas transportation, processing, distribution or storage projects.

The bill also makes provisions for granting special tax incentives to gas projects with significant levels of investment and expected economic benefits. Such waivers are also for investments that meet the country’s energy needs as a priority in implementing the gas resource development plan and pay special attention to the local content of gas projects.

The ultimate goal of instituting the Gas Code is to create an enabling environment for accelerating the implementation of projects to develop natural gas reserves and promote investment in the sector. The explanatory statement to the bill indicates that Cameroon is endowed with an estimated 500 billion cubic metres of natural gas, 115 billion cubic metres of which have been proven through exploratory drilling operations by international oil companies over the past 30 years.