Japanese aid group inks oil deal with Sudan

TOKYO, June 5, 2005 (AP) — A company established by a Japanese nongovernment organization providing humanitarian support in Sudan has obtained concession rights for oil and natural gas in the African nation, a Japanese newspaper reported Sunday.

Systems International Group, a Tokyo-based medical equipment company, and the Sudan government will formally sign the agreement next Sunday, the Mainichi newspaper reported.

The company, known as SIG, will develop oil fields in eastern Sudan bordering Eritrea and Ethiopia, the region believed to have large oil reserves, the Mainichi said.

The contract is believed to be about $100 million for approximately 25 years, the newspaper said. The company will invest about $8 million by August to set up a joint venture with Sudan.

After a geological survey of about one year, the joint company plans to have a contract with a Japanese trading company to develop oil in Sudan. SIG has already set aside Y500 million, the Mainichi said, quoting company officials as saying.

SIG was established in April by a Japanese NGO, Reliance, which has provided humanitarian support in Sudan since the 1990s.

The company said it plans to use the profit from oil development to finance humanitarian support in Africa.

Nearly 3 people million are displaced inside in the western Darfur region, where they’ve been driven from their homes by war.

China, which has aggressively sought oil and gas supplies abroad, has already signed contracts with Sudan.