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Energy
The oil sector in Sudan underwent a massive boom
in the past decade, fuelled by accelerating global
demand and earlier investment in exploration and
infrastructure. At the height of the boom in 2008, oil
represented 95% of export revenues and 60% of
government revenues. Currently, Sudan is the 5th
largest African oil resource holder, with reserves
amounting to 6.614 billion barrels, or 0.53% of the
world total. The growth of the oil sector has stimu-
lated the development of power stations, roads,
bridges, a river transport system, communication,
light industry, general trading and medical facilities.
The spin-off business from the sector is consid-
erable. There is a need for equipment of all kinds
from the construction of camps, road links and com-
munications to the supply of vehicles and catering
equipment. The government objectives can be sum-
marised as follows:
- rapid and effective development in the event of
significant discovery
- production at rates, and using methods, that will
ensure maximum ultimate recovery
- pricing and marketing to ensure maximum benefit
to the national economy
- transfer of technology and skill to nationals
- maximum overall benefit to the national economy
from petroleum operations
The global recession saw prices for oil plummet
back to pre-2007 rates, although production never
slowed. In 2010 Sudan’s oil production was approxi-
mately 480,000 barrels per day (bbl/d), and the gov-
ernment expressed its intention to see it rise beyond
1 million barrels by 2013. However, this extrapola-
tion assumes only conservative discoveries of new
oil reserves in that period, though exploration has so
far been mostly limited to central and south-central
regions of the country.
It is estimated that vast potential reserves are held in
northwest Sudan, the Blue Nile basin, and the Red
Sea area in eastern Sudan. The Sudan National Pe-
troleum Corporation (Sudapet) is active in Sudan’s
oil exploration and production, however due to its
limited technical and financial resources, it often de-
velops joint ventures with foreign companies in oil
projects.
There is also unharnessed potential in other energy
ventures, such as Sudan’s three trillion feet of natu-
ral gas reserves that have not, as of yet, been con-
sidered commercially viable, or in hydroelectric pow-
er generation in areas such as the Roseires Dam on
the Blue Nile grid. Various projects are proposed to
expand hydropower, thermal generation, and other
sources of energy, but so far the government has
had difficulty arranging sufficient financing.
Similarly with the mining sector, which currently
comprises less than 1% of the economy, there is
significant potential in gold, iron ore, base metals,
and uranium. Vast deposits of uranium ores have
been discovered in the area of the Nuba Mountains
at Hufrat an Nahas in southern Kurdufan, while large
quantities of zinc, silver, copper and other minerals
are believed to be buried under the Red Sea bed.
Evidently, there is much reason to expect an unprec-
edented expansion of Sudan’s energy and mining
sector in the coming decades.
MAIN COMPANIES
CHINA NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION
(CNPC)
House 57, Block 15, Reyad, Khartoum
Tel: + 249 1 8323 8886 / Fax: + 249 1 8323 8887
www.cnpc.com.cn
Activity: petroleum company
Date of Creation: 1996
No. Employees: over 4,000 Sudanese employees
and more than 7,000 local day laborers
CNPC is China’s largest oil and gas producer and
supplier, one of world’s major oilfield service provid-
ers and a globally reputed contractor in engineering
construction. It entered Sudan in 1996 and now has
oil and gas assets and provides oilfield services. CN-
PC’s oil and gas businesses in Sudan mainly include
the projects of Block 1/2/4, Block 3/7, Block 6, Block
15, the Khartoum Refinery, Khartoum Chemical I Co
Ltd and the petrochemical trade, covering oil and
gas exploration, development, production, storage
and transportation, refining and chemicals and sales
of refined products.
CNPC won the tender for the Block 1/2/4 project in
August 1996 and it currently has a 40% holding. This
site has a daily output of 150,000 barrels. CNPC won
the tender for Block 3/7 in November 2000 and cur-
rently owns a 41% stake and is also the operator of
this block. This oilfield produces 10 million tons of oil
annually. CNPC acquired the Block 6 project in 1996
and currently has a 100% stake. Daily oil output is at
more than 40,000 barrels.
The Khartoum Refinery is jointly invested in and
constructed by CNPC and the Sudanese Ministry of
Energy and Mining. CNPC has a 50% holding.
CNPC also provides technical services in Sudan,