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Gold/Mining/Energy : Lundin Oil (LOILY, LOILB Sweden) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Edward M. Zettlemoyer who wrote (1752)	7/10/2000 10:29:44 PM
From: Tomas	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2742

African nations select Sudan to join UN Security Council UNITED NATIONS, July 10 (AFP) - The countries of Africa have selected Sudan to represent the continent as a non-permanent member on the UN Security Council, despite US opposition and the fact that Sudan has been under international sanctions for four years, diplomats said Monday. The 53 African nations brushed aside strong opposition opposition from Washington to choose Sudan last week, over Mauritius and Uganda, to succeed Namibia on the council. Sudan's two-year term will begin in January. Sudan will be one of the three designated African nations holding a non-permanent seat on the 15-member council, which has five permanent member seats. International sanctions were imposed on Sudan in 1996 in an effort to force Khartoum to extradite three suspects linked to a failed assasination attempt on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. But the sanctions are to be reviewed in November and are expected to be lifted then, an outcome sought by the African, Arab and non-aligned groups of nations at the United Nations. But the sanctions are expected to be lifted in mid-November following a US-Sudanese agreement to postpone the the review of possibly lifting sanctions sought by Arab, African and non-aligned groups. According to a letter from the Sudanese foreign ministry to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on June 1 of this year, an investigation by Sudanese authorities showed "no trace has been found of the three suspects in the Sudan." The UN Security Council, responsible for maintaining international peace and security, is the only UN body that can decide on enforcement measures, whether in the form of economic sanctions or military operations. Algeria's UN ambassador, Abdallah Baali, said "nothing in the UN Charter prevents a country under sanctions from applying for the seat." Baali said the African group put the three candidate countries before a committee within the group, and that committee unanimously selected Sudan. Sudan's candidacy must be approved in November by the 189 member countries of the UN General Assembly, but that is considered a formality, since regional groups traditionally choose which country is to hold their designated Security Council seats.

To: Edward M. Zettlemoyer who wrote (1752)	7/13/2000 8:11:02 AM
From: Tomas	Respond to of 2742

Petronas Allocated 40 Pct Stake in Block 5B Sudan Oil Project KUALA LUMPUR, July 13 (AFX-ASIA) - Sudan has allocated Petroliam Nasional Bhd a stake of some 40 pct in Block 5B of an oil exploration project in Southern Sudan, The Sun newspaper reported, quoting Hassan Mohd Ali, secretary-general to the Sudanese Ministry of Mining and Energy. Petronas is expected to become the main operator of the new exploration and production site in Block 5B and further negotiations are underway between the two parties, Hassan said. The project is expected to commence at the latest by January 2001, he said. "The Sudanese government will hold a bigger share in this project, at least 15 pct compared to its 5 pct equity in previous ventures, and the rest will be allocated to European companies," Hassan said. "Petronas will be the operator of this project and we hope to finish negotiations by January and mobilise the project in the next six months," he added. According to The Sun, the amount of investment from Petronas in Block 5B operations has yet to be decided but is expected to run into billions of ringgit. Petronas has joint investments in other oil exploration and production operations in Sudan, and holds a 30 pct stake in Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company (GNPOC) which is exploring and developing Blocks 1, 2 and 4 in south Sudan. In the GNPOC ventures, Petronas' three partners are China National Petroleum Corporation, which holds a 40 pct stake, Talisman with 25 pct and Sudan's national oil company Sudapet with 5 pct. Petronas has invested about 800 mln usd in petroleum exploration and production in Sudan, said to its largest single overseas investment so far, the report said. Meanwhile, The Sun quoted Petronas country manager Omar Suhaimi Abu Hassan saying that high oil prices will help Petronas recover its investment in Sudan earlier than expected. Instead of the normal six to seven years to recoup its investment, the recovery period could be shortened by at least two to three years if high oil prices prevail, he said. Blocks 1, 2 and 4 under the GNPOC exploration project are believed to contain combined reserves of some 2.8 bln barrels. Omar said the GNPOC project has recovered 620 mln barrels of oil, and is in the midst of exploring and discovering another 330 mln barrels. slb.com