Chad has recalled its ambassador to Cameroon as tensions build over Exxon Mobil’s intention to sell its oil interests in both Chad and Cameroon to Savannah Energy.
According to a statement issued by Chad, the president of the landlocked Central African Republic recalled his country’s ambassador late Thursday. The statement referred to “entrenched disagreements” about the transaction.
Exxon sold its companies in Chad and Cameroon to Savannah, an oil and gas firm focused on Africa, in a $407 million deal completed in December. Nonetheless, the Chadian government has challenged the deal, claiming that the final conditions differ from what it was first given.
Exxon’s section of the 1,021-kilometer (621-mile) long oil pipeline between Chad and Cameroon has been taken over by the Chadian government.
Chad said in a statement published on Thursday that it had contacted Cameroon to express its concern with “unfriendly actions” by certain Cameroonian officials on the pipeline company’s board who were working against Chad’s interests.
Chad “finds itself once again in the obligation to defend its interests and its respectability” in light of “the repeated actions of Cameroon and its representatives that undermine relations between the two countries,” according to the statement. As a result, Chad has elected to consult with its ambassador in Cameroon, according to the statement.
The Cameroonian foreign ministry and a government spokesman both declined to comment.
Savannah Energy has said that it wants to sue Chad over the nationalization of Exxon’s assets that it purchased.
Cameroon’s national oil company (SNH) announced on Wednesday that it had bought a 10% stake in the Cameroon Oil Transportation company. This company owns and operates the 903-kilometer Cameroon leg of the Chad-Cameroon pipeline.
According to the terms of the deal, SNH of Cameroon will pay Savannah Energy $44.9 million in cash. Chad said in its statement that it had been kept in the dark about the arrangement, which violated the pipeline company’s legal standing.
