Exxon denies charges by Chad it failed to respect deals

NDJAMENA, Oct 11 (AFP) - US oil major ExxonMobil, part of an international consortium running a multi-billion dollar oil project in Chad, Monday denied allegations it had failed to respect agreements with the government.
"The consortium has continuously conformed to the agreements in force with the government... and with all the Chadian laws that affect our activities in Chad," the ExxonMobil Corporation said in a statement.
"Contrary to comments attributed to the government we have consistently communicated all relevant crude oil sales information to the government as provided for in our agreements with the government."
Chad on Thursday accused the consortium of US firms ExxonMobil and Chevron and Malaysia's Petronas of breaking a joint agreement, notably by selling Chadian oil at knock-down prices.
The statement from the Chadian presidency was entitled: "Chadian oil: swindling, murkiness and fraud by the consortium in the exploitation of Doba crude."
"The sale price of Chadian oil is less than 20 dollars, yet the barrel price is 50 dollars on the international market today. This practice puts considerable strain on the meagre resources Chad expects of its oil," the Chadian statement said.
"Despite a call to order issued repeatedly by the Chadian government... there has been only silence and a manifest refusal to respect previous undertakings," it said.
ExxonMobil said it had received no direct communication from the Chadian government on the matter, and learnt of the allegations only through press reports.
It acknowledged that "from time to time differences of opinion may arise with respect to contract interpretation. In these instances our objective is to seek equitable solutions through discussions. However there are dispute resolution mechanisms in the agreements, including arbitration, which may be used to resolve certain impasses."
The Doba fields in the oil-rich south of Chad were officially opened almost exactly a year ago.
Over the next 25 years, an estimated 900 million barrels are expected to flow from Doba to Cameroon's Atlantic port of Kribi, bringing in much-needed cash. The average income of Chad's seven million people is less than a dollar per day.