It could enable the poverty-ridden, landlocked Chadian nation to embark on deep ploughing social development and poverty reduction.
Critics are however loud and widespread.
Chad is one of the poorest countries in the world. Chad also has very high infant mortality rates, limited access to basic social services, and extremely poor nutrition levels. Without oil, and despite recent growth of 5 percent a year, it could well take 35 years to double Chad's per capita income, according to World Bank estimates. Ninety percent of the country is desert or semi-arid. Its very narrow economic base and lack of skilled people limit the opportunities for growth in most sectors.