Sudan plans to increase oil production by a quarter

KHARTOUM, Sudan, Nov 04, 2003 (AP) — Sudan says its daily oil production will be increased by 24.8 percent next year, going from 250 million barrels a day this year to 312 million barrels.

Awad Ahmed Al-Jaz, the energy and mining minister, predicted the increase in remarks to parliament, the official news agency reported Tuesday. The minister did not offer details on how the government planned to achieve the increase, but said it was looking at new areas for oil companies to explore in eastern and western Sudan.

In April, Al-Jaz told the Cabinet he expected an oil field in Fula, 700 kilometers (about 400 miles) west of Khartoum, in addition to other areas he did not name, to start production this year.

The minister also said Monday that oil refineries in Port Sudan and Khartoum and other oil facilities would be upgraded to accommodate the increase.

Sudan began producing oil in 1999. Fighting in Sudan’s 20-year-old civil war has intensified in recent years because of competition for oil. Southern rebels are fighting the predominantly Arab and Muslim northern government in a bid to obtain greater autonomy for the largely animist and Christian south.