N'DJAMENA, Chad (AFX) - The president of Chad said Saturday that oil companies Chevron Corp. and Petronas must leave the country, adding that neither had paid taxes.
In remarks on state-run radio, President Idriss Derby gave the companies, which have been part of the African country's oil production consortium that is led by Exxon Mobil, a deadline of just 24 hours to start making plans to leave.
'Chad has decided that as of tomorrow (Sunday) Chevron and Petronas must leave Chad because they have refused to pay their taxes,' Derby said in a message broadcast on state-run radio.
Derby said that the country, which is in the midst of setting up a national oil company, would take responsibility for the oil fields that the American and Malaysian companies have overseen, which accounts for some 60 percent of the country's oil production.
Neither Kuala Lumpur-based Petroliam Nasional Berhad or San Ramon, California-based Chevron immediately commented on Derby's declaration.
The production and export of petroleum in Chad are overseen by the Exxon Mobil-led consortium. Under the mechanism, Texas-based Exxon Mobil Corp. is responsible for 40 percent of the country's production, while Chevron and Petronas each have 30 percent.
The decision came a day after Derby ordered his government to take a greater role in the production of oil, which is viewed as a way to improve the country's ailing economy.
On Friday Chad government spokesman Hourmadji Moussa Doumgor told reporters that Derby wanted greater profits from oil production.
Derby has stressed that the country 'should fully enjoy its oil, mining and other resources,' Doumgor said.
Chad is one of Africa's newest oil producers.
From October 2003 to December 2005, the consortium exported some 133 million barrels of oil from Chad, according to information compiled by the World Bank.
Chad itself earned US$307 million, or about 12.5 percent on each barrel exported.
Chad, which is not an OPEC member, has struggled with discontent over its poor economy, and unhappiness has intensified over the failure of an immediate boost from its oil field, which went online for development in 2003.
Unrest also has spilled over from Darfur, where Sudan's Arab-dominated government is accused of encouraging a campaign of destruction aimed at civilians in African farming villages that are the base for a three-year-old rebellion. Sudan charges that Chad supports the Darfur rebels. Chad, in turn, accuses Sudan of backing eastern Chad rebels.
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