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Chad seeking amicable solution over massive Exxon fine - minister

The logo of Exxon Mobil is seen in Encinitas, California April 4, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Chad's government is negotiating with Exxon Mobil Corp over a massive fine which a court has ordered an Exxon-led consortium to pay and hopes to reach an "amicable" solution, Bechir Madet, Chad's minister of petroleum and energy, told Reuters on Tuesday. A court in October fined the consortium 44 trillion CFA francs ($71.65 billion) - nearly four times BP's record Deepwater Horizon settlement - over unpaid royalties. "The government is trying to find an amicable solution acceptable to both parties and looking for a future with the company," Madet told Reuters in an interview at the Petrotech conference in New Delhi. Madet also said Indian companies ONGC Videsh and Adani Enterprises had shown interest in buying oil blocks in Chad. ($1 = 614.0800 CFA francs) (Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan)