Total confident of its Sudan oilfield contract

PARIS, March 3 (Reuters) – Oil group Total SA (TOTF.PA) said on Thursday it was confident of the validity of a 1980 contract with the Sudanese government giving it rights to an oilfield in southern Sudan, part of which a British firm is now claiming.

The deal giving the French company rights to Block B in the south-eastern part of the war-torn African country is at the centre of a dispute after White Nile said it had signed an agreement with the government of South Sudan to acquire a stake in part of the field.

Under that deal, White Nile would acquire a 60 percent stake in the 67,000-square-kilometre Block Ba, which covers part of Block B. “We are very serene regarding the legal position (on Block B). Our contract is valid,” a Total spokesman said.

White Nile appears to have signed an agreement with parties associated with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, which is expected to play a leading role in governing south Sudan following a peace deal signed in January, which will give the South some autonomy from Khartoum.

However, the Khartoum government says it is the only body with the authority to make oil deals and denies any agreement with White Nile.

Total has operator rights for the block with a 32.5 percent stake, with Marathon Petroleum Sudan Ltd owning 32.5 percent, Kufpec Sudan Ltd 25 percent and state-owned Sudapet 10 percent.

It operated Block B from 1980 until 1985, when it was forced to suspend activities because of worsening security conditions in southern Sudan as rebels in the region stepped up their fight against the Khartoum government. Total says activities could resume only once peace was restored.

Sudan’s oil production, currently around 320,000 barrels per day (bpd), comes mainly from fields in the south, with Chinese, Malaysian and Indian firms big investors.