Chad threatens oil halt
2006-04-14 19:55
N'Djamena - Chad will stop its oil production unless it reaches an agreement with the World Bank to end a dispute over the use of oil revenues, said a Chadian government minister on Friday.
Chad's human rights minister Abderamane Djasnabaille, said: "We will turn off the tap in a week if there is no agreement with the World Bank."
He said production would be stopped on Tuesday.
Chad produces between 160 000 and 170 000 barrels of crude oil a day.
The World Bank suspended loans to Chad in January.
It said the Chadian government had breached an agreement with the bank when it changed a law to access oil profits - meant to benefit the poor - from a pipeline operated by a United States consortium.
The bank also froze pipeline profits, saved in a London account. The savings include royalties from the pipeline's operator.
Djasnabaille said: "The World Bank does not have the right to block funds that do not belong to it."
The central African country is in a state of heightened alert after rebels attacked the capital N'Djamena on Thursday.
It was the boldest assault yet by fighters who have vowed to end Chadian President Idriss Deby's nearly 16-year rule.