N’DJAMENA, (Reuters) – The government of Chad has suspended all activities of a China National Petroleum Corporation subsidiary for violations of environmental standards while drilling for crude oil in the south of the country.
Chad’s oil minister Djerassem Le Bemadjiel told state radio late on Tuesday that a decision had been taken to indefinitely suspend CNPC’s operations after a visit at the Koudalwa field about 200 km (124 miles) south of the capital.
“We found flagrant violations of environmental standards by the company,” said Le Bemadjiel. “CNPC’s behaviour was unacceptable.”