Sudan and Malaysia sign billion-dollar oil refinery deal

Aug 29, 2005 (Khartoum) — The Sudanese government and Malaysian oil giant Petronas announced Monday a one-billion-dollar deal to build an oil refinery in the northern Port Sudan on the Red Sea, officials said.

The refinery will be owned jointly by Petronas and the Sudanese government when it becomes operational in 2007.

Sudanese Energy and Mining Minister Awad Ahmed al-Jaz, who signed for the government, commended Malaysia for contributing to the exploration of oil in the Sudan.

“They are friends of yesterday, today and tomorrow who came to Sudan during difficult circumstances,” he said.

Jaz said the new refinery’s capacity would be 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) but added that Khartoum had an agreement with Petronas for the output to be later raised to 150,000 bpd.

Petronas chief executive Mohammed Hassan Marican said the partnership was “strengthening the ties of cooperation between Malaysia and Sudan for developing oil installations.”

“Refined petroleum products will be exported to the world from this refinery,” he said during the signing ceremony.

Sudan produces about 300,000 bpd and hopes to raise its crude production to half a million by the end of he year. The sprawling country has proven reserves of around 560 million barrels.

AFP/ST