Janpanese NGO-affiliated firm acquires oil right in Sudan

TOKYO, Jun 06, 2005 (Kyodo) — Systems International Group Inc., an affiliate of a nongovernmental organization, said Monday it has acquired exploitation rights to an oil field in eastern Sudan, in a rare example of company with no links to the oil business engaging in the oil development.

The medical and healthcare device sales company, affiliated with Reliance, an NGO providing medical support to Sudan, plans to solicit investments from general trading and oil companies to fund its oil activities.

The oil field near the Ethiopian and Eritrean borders is estimated to have more than 7 billion barrels in oil reserves, according to the Sudanese government.

The amount is about double that in the Khafji oil field, located near the offshore former “neutral zone” between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, which major Japanese oil supplier Arabian Oil Co. held the drilling concessions to until 2000.

However, officials of major general trading companies say the project could run into difficulty, citing uncertainty over just how extensive the reserves are, and the huge costs involved in constructing a pipeline.