Chadian Government Nationalizes All ExxonMobil Assets in Country

In December 2022, the American multinational oil and gas giant ExxonMobil sold its operations in Chad and Cameroon to British firm Savannah Energy PLC in a $407 million deal. At the time, the Chadian government contested the sale of the assets, arguing that the terms of the final agreement were different from those presented by the US corporation.

Chad has nationalized all the assets owned by ESSO Exploration and Production Chad Inc, a subsidiary of US oil and gas company ExxonMobil, in the Central African country, the Chadian Petroleum and Energy Ministry announced on Thursday.

The ExxonMobil assets in question consist of a 40% stake in Chad's Doba oil project, which included seven production sites with an overall output of about 28,000 barrels per day (bpd). Also included was a 40% indirect interest in the Chad-Cameroon export transportation system, which includes a 1,081-km (672-mile) pipeline and a floating storage and offloading facility, that links the landlocked country to the Gulf of Guinea coast in the Atlantic Ocean.

ExxonMobil announced it was selling its assets in Chad and neighboring Cameroon to London-based company Savannah Energy PLC in a $407 million deal in late 2022. The British company's acquisition of the assets was legally contested by the government of Chad, who cited violations of the country's interest in the operation.

"Consequently, pending a final decision on the irregularity of this operation, the Republic will ask the competent courts to suspend the effects of an operation violating its rights over the resources of Chad," Chad’s Petroleum and Energy Ministry said in a statement in mid-December.

The United States-based company’s sale of its operations in Chad and Cameroon was part of the oil and gas giant’s plan to exit operations in some countries with declining crude output, including Chad and Equatorial Guinea, in order to focus on other lucrative projects, such as its liquefied natural gas projects in Mozambique and the Americas.

In November 2022, it was reported that Exxon Mobil plans to end its oil production in OPEC-member Equatorial Guinea when the company's license expires in 2026. Although Exxon's production accounts for almost 50% of Equatorial Guinea's general oil output, the company’s production in the Central African country has notably declined over the past few years.