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Chad’s parliament passes bill to nationalise Savannah Energy’s assets. Should investors worry?

Published

2 years ago

March 31, 2023

The Chadian parliament has passed a bill to nationalise Savannah Energy’s oil assets and rights acquired last year from ExxonMobil’s affiliate, Esso Exploration, and Production Chad.

An overwhelming 172 out of 175 parliament members backed the law to nationalise the assets, but the oil giant plans to explore all legal options to contest the move to nationalise its upstream assets in the country.

Last week, the Chadian energy and hydrocarbons ministry announced that all relevant assets and rights of ExxonMobil subsidiaries would be nationalized.

Nationalisation refers to the action of a government taking control of a company or industry, which generally occurs without compensation for the loss of the net worth of seized assets and potential income.

The Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Djerassem Le Bemadjiel told parliament, “Savannah and Esso – ExxonMobil has taken actions that pose serious and immediate threats to public order in Chad as well as to all actors in this economic sector that is crucial to the stability and development of Chad.”

Recall that the Chadian government had in December challenged an agreement made by ExxonMobil to close the sale of its operations in Chad and Cameroon to Africa-focused oil and gas producer Savannah Energy in a $407 million deal.

London-listed Savannah owns a 40% interest in the Doba Oil Project in Chad, comprising seven producing oilfields with a combined output of 28,000 barrels per day (bpd).

The idea of nationalisation is one of the challenges foreign investors are faced with in doing business in Africa because of the political situation in some of the countries which usually birth state actions leading to attempts to consolidate power, resentment of foreign ownership of industries representing significant importance to local economies, or in a bid to prop up failing industries.

But nationalisation isn’t peculiar to just Africa. Russia, at the height of its ongoing war with Ukraine, also threatened western businesses leaving Russia due to the war that their companies and production facilities might be confiscated by the Russian state.

Related Topics:#CHAD ExxonMobil Featured nationalisation

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Ivory Coast to create $500 million green financing fund

Published

4 days ago

November 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Ivory Coast will establish a $500 million green financing fund to assist sustainable growth, the IMF said.

Africa’s 54 countries have been worst hit by climate change, although emitting less pollution than developed nations. They get only 1% of yearly global climate financing.

The African Green Banks Initiative aims to develop a $1.5 billion ecosystem of green investment facilities by 2030, including Ivory Coast’s new facility.

The Global Environment Facility, the Green Climate Fund, the Ivory Coast government, multilateral development banks, development finance organisations, and possible private sources will all contribute to the facility’s capitalisation.

The leading cocoa-growing country in the world, West Africa, has been drafting new legislation to help other green finance projects, such as a body to regulate carbon credit management.

The consequences of climate change have disproportionately affected Africa, making cyclones, floods, and droughts worse in recent years.

A 30-month, $1.3 billion loan agreement for Ivory Coast under the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility was authorised by the executive board in March.

According to the IMF, the funding agreement will help the Abidjani administration implement its pledge to lessen the negative consequences of climate change.

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1,172 Nigerians killed, over 1,000 kidnapped in nine months— NHRC

Published

1 week ago

November 14, 2024

Isaac Dachen

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has put the figures of Nigerians killed and kidnapped by non-state actors from January to September 2024, at 1,172 and 1,463 respectively.

A new data released on Wednesday by the organization reveal that the month of May saw the 298 persons killed, making it the highest, while March recorded the highest number of abductions with 499 kidnappings.

These data which was presented at a workshop on the state of human rights in Nigeria by the commission and the European Union, in Abuja, attributed the rise in kidnappings, killings and child abandonment in Nigeria to the negligence and failure of the state to protect its citizens.

While presenting the data, NHRC Senior Human Rights Adviser, Hillary Ogbonna, gave a breakdown of what he described as the alarming rise in human rights abuses, including kidnappings, killings and child abandonment.

“By January 2024, we already had 150 kidnappings and 55 killings associated mainly with non-state actors. What has become the norm is the killing of law enforcement officers,” Ogbonna said.

“We started with seven policemen killed in January. From victims’ perspectives, we had quite a number of victims for human rights violations for January.”

Also speaking at the event, the NHRC Executive Secretary in Nigeria, Tony Ojukwu, said:

“In recent years, we have witnessed alarming trends and threats against those who dare to speak the truth to power.

“It serves as a stark reminder that the protection of human rights is an ongoing struggle that requires continuous vigilance, action and cooperation from all sectors of the society,” Ojukwu said.

A delegation from the EU which also made a presentation, reiterated its commitment to support Nigeria to overcome these challenges, while urging the Federal Government to work with the armed forces to end this trend.

“The European Union will continue to work around the world through diplomacy,” the Head of EU Delegation, Zissimos Vergos, said.h