SUDAN: U.S. companies Discuss oil Investment

Sudan’s Ministry of Oil and Gas on Monday said it has discussed with three U.S. firms the investment prospects in the oil industry sector in Sudan.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Administration permanently lifted 20-year-old economic sanctions against Sudan allowing resumption of trade, investment and banking transactions with the East African nation.

In a press release extended to Sudan Tribune Monday, Sudan’s Oil and Gas Ministry said the first round of the Sudanese-U.S. talks on oil industry has begun, pointing out the heads of three American oil firms have arrived in Khartoum for the first time since the lift of sanctions.

According to the press release, the heads of the three oil firms have laid out their companies’ expertise and capabilities as the ministry’s technical officials briefed them on the investment potential in the oil industry in Sudan.

For his part, Sudan’s Minister of Oil and Gas Abdel-Rahman Osman has called on the U.S. oil firms to invest in a number of oil blocs in the Red Sea area, Eastern Sudan.

He pointed out to the importance of introducing advanced technology to push forward the oil production in Sudan.

On the other hand, the heads of the three U.S. oil firms have expressed serious desire to invest in the oil and gas industry in Sudan and accelerate the pace of work to achieve the desired goals.

It is noteworthy that the American oil company Chevron made the first discovery of oil in Sudan in the late 1970s and 1980s in greater Upper Nile Region.

However, Chevron could not continue with the exploration and production because of the outbreak of Sudan’s second civil war in 1983.

Sudan lost 75% of its oil reserves after the southern part of the country became an independent nation in July 2011, denying the north billions of dollars in revenues. Oil revenue constituted more than half of the Sudan’s revenue and 90% of its exports.

Sudan currently produces 133,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd). The country’s production is stationed mainly in the Heglig area and its surroundings, as well as western Kordofan.

Chinese companies control 75 percent of foreign investment in Sudan’s oil sector.
Following South Sudan’s secession, several foreign companies started exploration in new oil fields.

(ST)