ABSTRACT
The CEMAC region is rich in geological resources. Recently oil and gas make up almost 80% of the total exports. Being the smallest CEMAC country-only 28,051 km2 in size and a population of 616,459 inhabitants-Equatorial Guinea is within a Sub-Saharan context the most important producer of crude oil following Angola and Nigeria. In 2007 production in crude oil reached 17.5 million of tons, followed by Gabon (12.1), Republic of Congo (11.0), Chad (7.3) and Cameroon (4.3). However, none of these countries are a member of the OPEC. These five CEMAC states contribute 11% of the total African oil production (EU 2009). In addition to hydrocarbon based resources there
1 INTRODUCTION
The Commission of the Economic and Monetary community of Central Africa (Communauté Economique et Monetaire de l’Afrique CentraleCEMAC, www.comcemac.org) is an African regional organisation that was established in 1994 as a successor institution of the former Central African customs union founded in 1964 (Union Douanière et Economique des Etats de l’Afrique Centrale-UDEAC). CEMAC headquarters are located in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR). CEMAC has several executive bodies like the conference of the head of states and the Central Bank BEAC (Banque des Etats de l’Afrique Centrale) based in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
