Chad Nationalizes All Exxon Mobil's Assets - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th March, 2023) The government of Chad has nationalized all of the assets of Esso Chad, a subsidiary of oil and gas giant Exxon Mobil, media reported.

On Thursday, Chadian Interim President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno issued a decree nationalizing all of the assets and rights of any kind, arising from conventions, as well as exploration, operating and transport permits for oil and gas of ESSO Exploration and Production Chad Inc, according to Chadian media outlet Tchad Infos.

In December, Exxon Mobil said that it had sold its assets in Chad and Cameroon to Savannah Energy for $407 million, Reuters reported, adding that the government of Chad disputed the agreement, saying that its final conditions differed from those Exxon Mobil initially presented and warned that it might lodge an appeal against the agreement and take other steps in order to protect its interests.

In April 2021, Idriss Deby Itno, who had been Chad's president for decades, died after being critically wounded in counter-insurgency actions in the north of the country. After that, the army in Chad dissolved the parliament and the government and established a transitional military council consisting of 15 members to rule the country.

Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, the 37-year-old son of the deceased president, headed the council. On October 8, 2022, the transitional council was dissolved and Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno was declared the interim president. He will govern the country until the elections, which will take place in 2024.