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April 20, 2000: CCA Hosts Private Reception for Prime Minister of Chad

An oil pipeline that U.S. companies will help build in Chad holds out the promise of changing the destiny of the land-locked nation's people from one of poverty to one of prosperity, says Prime Minister Nagoum Yamasoum.

Yamasoum, who was in the United States to attend the spring meetings of the World Bank, told CCA members at a April 19 private reception that Chad is "really a country that has not been favored by destiny" and that historically its people "have suffered greatly."

But Yamasoum said that could change when a new Chad-Cameroon pipeline -- that a consortium of oil companies has agreed to build -- comes on-line. The group includes the CCA members Exxon/Mobil and Chevron. The pipeline, if completed, will transport crude oil from fields in southern Chad through northern Cameroon to a new terminal being built in the Gulf of Guinea.

CCA President and Executive Director Steve Hayes welcomed Yamasoum, pointing out that "we are here tonight to celebrate what we hope will be a very successful project involving Exxon/Mobil, Chevron, and other companies. The project will change the lives of the people of Chad as well as throughout Africa."

Yamasoum thanked Hayes "for the discussions and good [business] contacts" that the Corporate Council on Africa arranged during his Washington visit, adding, "We are living in the hope that our people will benefit" from the pipeline deal, which will be of "mutual benefit for both the people of Chad and for the friends of Chad."

The Prime Minister reinforced that point when he added that "behind the oil project there hides an infinite amount of resources and wealth that is not well-known but which could be very profitable for you."

Tom Walters, an Exxon/Mobil vice president who was recently in N'Djamena negotiating his company's entry into the pipeline consortium, said his firm "has been actively involved for many years with developing plans for a significant oil/gas project in Chad. We found our dealings with both the government and people of Chad to be very rewarding and we look forward to have a long history in this country."

Boidy Sibley, an executive with Chevron, affirmed his company's 40 year relationship with Chad, "We are looking forward to a very close and fruitful relationship."

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