Petronas has sold its oil assets in Chad to the African nation’s state oil company, after an earlier deal with London-listed Savannah Energy fell through.
Savannah has struck separate deals to buy the oil assets held by both Petronas and ExxonMobil in the Doba basin, but both transactions fell apart amid a war of words between the Ndjamena-based government and the UK-based independent.
State-owned SHT said today that it had acquired the entire shareholding in Petronas Carigali Chad E&P, after signing a share purchase agreement on 12 December 2022.
Savannah was set to pay Petronas about $266 million under its deal. SHT did not disclose how much it has paid.
SHT will take on Petronas’ stake in the Doba basin oilfields and its interests in Tchad Oil Transportation Company and Cameroon Oil Transportation Company, the two companies operating a 1070-kilometre pipeline that exports Chad’s crude to a terminal on Cameroon’s coast.
The transaction was approved by Chad’s Ministry of Hydrocarbons on 31 March.
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A further approval was secured from the Economic & Monetary Community of Central Africa on 15 May, and the transaction was formally completed on 22 May, with a closing ceremony held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Chad’s delegation to Malaysia was led by Gali Gatta, Minister of State, Secretary General of the Presidency, and included Tahir Nguilin, Chad’s Minister of Finance, Djerassem le Bemadjiel, Minister of Hydrocarbons, and Eric Ndoassal, SHT’s chief executive.
Commenting on the deal, Le Bemadjiel said the acquisition “affords the country a greater level of control over its oil assets, which are of critical importance to the country’s economy and stability.
“I look forward to working with SHT to ensure that the production and export of the country’s hydrocarbon reserves continues to develop for the benefit of the population of Chad,” he added.