African country nationalizes ExxonMobil’s assets – Reuters
Chad’s energy ministry has announced the nationalization of all the assets and rights that belonged to a subsidiary of US oil major ExxonMobil, including hydrocarbon permits as well as exploration and production permits, according to a Reuters report on Friday.
Exxon's assets reportedly included a 40% stake in Chad's Doba oil project, which comprises seven producing oilfields with a combined output of 28,000 barrels per day (bpd).
The report also mentions Exxon's interest in the Chad-Cameroon export transportation system, which extends for over a thousand kilometers.
The ministry’s statement comes as the American company declared in December that it had closed the sale of its operations in Chad and Cameroon to British firm Savannah Energy.
The Chadian government then challenged the $407-million acquisition deal, saying the final terms were different from what Exxon had presented. N'Djamena warned at the time that it may ask courts to block Savannah's purchase of Exxon's assets in the country and take further steps to protect its interests.
In 2017, the Chadian High Court demanded the oil explorer pay $819 million in overdue royalties after Exxon was accused of not having met its tax obligations. The corporation later reached a settlement over its tax payments, avoiding a $74-billion fine from the Central African country.
Chad has the tenth-largest oil reserves in Africa, exporting 90% of its crude.
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