Sudan Confirm Oil Reserves of 800 Million Barrels
Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) April 13 - As Sudan to exploit its reserves of oil, an official in Khartoum was able to give information on quantity and quality of discovered crude.
Speaking to PANA on Sunday the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Energy and Mining, Hassan Ali el Toam, said "Sudan's recoverable reserve so far is estimated at 800 million barrels."
El Toam has, however, said this is not a final assessment "because we are still in the beginning of the oil exploration era."
"There are many oil indications throughout the country. This is rather a short period to assess the real potential of Sudan," he added.
He said: "Some 85 percent of the prospective areas remain unexplored and there is no sufficient data to make an estimate."
The official described the crude from Helig and and Unity oil fields in Western and Southern Sudan, respectively, which is now under exploitation, as "of medium gravity paraffin and low sulphur".
The country is at the moment building a 1,160 km pipeline from Heglig and Unity oil fields to the Port Sudan on the Red Sea.
Designed at a daily capacity of 450,000 barrels, the pipeline will pump 150,000 barrels a day at the initial phase beginning July, the deadline for the final construction of the 600-million dollar pipeline.
At the same time a 600-million-dollar oil refinery is being built at el Jaili village
(30 Km north of Khartoum) which will refine a daily 50,000 of this crude for local consumption.
Exploitation of the crude is being undertaken by a consortium of firms from China, Malaysia, Canada, Britain and Argentina.
Meanwhile, the official has disclosed that the French Total oil company has expressed willingness to resume work in its consessional areas in Bor Basin (South Sudan), which it had quit in 1983 when civil war erupted in that part of the country.
A delegation from Total last Thursday visited Khartoum for talks on the matter with Sudanese officials. Envoys from the Ministry of Energy and Mining are set to travel to Paris for further discussions. But according to el Toam "no date is agreed yet for the resumption of Total activities."
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