In a landlocked country like Chad, the access to outside flows of goods, persans and the information and energy they convey, has always been vital. Over time, the different itineraries ("trans-Sahara", "Atlantic") and directions of these flows have contributed to modify the economie, political and social structures of the country. This article analyzes the contradictory role played by recent access to oil and its rents on these existing structures. The authors argue that: firstly, access to oil has consolidated the "Atlantic itinerary". Secondly, that access to oil has initially consolidated the practices of the present Chadian elite - a result expected within a classic resource curse approach -, but at the same time it has created a space for bifurcation that has lasted, although it has not yet given way to a new trajectory.