KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) – Chad said Thursday that it has recalled its ambassador to Cameroon for “consultations” following a dispute over assets belonging to multinational oil giant Exxon Mobil which the Chadian government nationalized.

Last month, the government nationalized assets of Exxon Mobil including the company’s interest in the more than 1,000-kilometer (621-mile) Chad-Cameroon pipeline from Chad to the Atlantic Gulf of Guinea coast used to export crude oil.

The controversial nationalization came after Exxon Mobil had in December closed the sale of its operations in Chad and Cameroon to British-listed Africa-focused energy company Savannah Energy in a $407 million deal.

The sale was contested by the Chadian military government.

However, this week reports said that Savannah Energy had decided to sell its 10% stake in a company that controls the Cameroonian section of the Chad-Cameroon pipeline to Cameroon’s state oil company for $44.9 million, which Chadian authorities were against.

A statement from the presidency Thursday accused Cameroonian authorities of being dishonest in negotiations aimed at resolving disputes regarding the acquisition of the assets of Exxon Mobil by Savannah Energy.

“Chad is therefore forced to recall its ambassador for consultation in order to defend its interests and respectability in the face of Cameroon's repeated actions,” said Gali Ngothe Gatta, Chad’s Secretary-General of the Presidency.

“This dispute is undermining relations between the two countries and could have consequences on economic and political cooperation,” he said.

Esso-Exxon Mobil has been operating in the West African country for decades.

James Tasamba/AA