- It is the central African country’s latest effort to nullify the sale of Exxon’s interests to British independent Savannah Energy, the current operator.
- Savannah responded that “the actions of the Republic of Chad are in direct breach of the conventions to which SCI and the Republic of Chad are, amongst others, party.
After losing one round in an international arbitration court, Chad has nationalized its Doba upstream oil assets formerly held by ExxonMobil subsidiary Esso Exploration and Production Chad Inc. It is the central African country’s latest effort to nullify the sale of Exxon’s interests to British independent Savannah Energy, the current operator.
Chad’s President, Mahamat Deby, signed a decree on 23 March that nationalized the 40% interest in Doba, held by Savannah Chad Inc. (SCI) since its asset purchase from ExxonMobil was declared closed on 9 December 2022. The nationalization covers all assets, production rights, operating permits, and oil-transport authorizations previously held by Esso.
Savannah responded, asserting in a statement that “the actions of the Republic of Chad are in direct breach of the conventions to which SCI and the Republic of Chad are, amongst others, party,” adding that it will “pursue all of its legal rights” by taking the case to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration court in Paris.
Responding to Chad’s latest move on nationalization, Savannah pointed out that the country has benefited from the transaction because “under SCI’s operatorship (Doba’s), historic production decline was immediately reversed, with daily production averaging 29,349 B/D since SCI took over, an increase of 9% as against the equivalent period before Savannah having taken control.
Amid its dispute with Chad, on 12 December 2022, Savannah signed a $1.25-billion purchase of shares agreement with Petronas to acquire the Malaysian major’s entire South Sudan portfolio pushing further east across the Central African Rift System. Assuming the transaction is finalized, the British independent will acquire interests in three joint operating companies (JOCs) producing 64 fields. Major partners in the JOCs include China’s CNPC and Sinopec, India’s ONGC, South Sudan’s Nile Petroleum Corp., and the national oil company of South Sudan.