Sudan to ship 400,000 barrels of new crude – source

Aug 14, 2006 (KUALA LUMPUR) — Sudan will export its first crude cargo from the 40,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Thar Jath oilfield, totalling 400,000 barrels from end-August, an industry source said on Monday.

Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir with ex-President Gaafar Nimeiri and Hassan Turabi among others during the inauguration of an oil pipeline on Monday May 31, 1999, in Heglig, central Sudan. (AP) .

The African country’s newest oilfield began production in June and is pumping heavy sweet crude, the source added.

“It’s scheduled for first lifting from the marine terminal at Port Sudan at the end of this month,” the source said. The destination was not immediately known.

Production from the field, in Block 5A in southern Sudan, is expected to increase to about 60,000 bpd by the end of this year, with provisions to increase the capacity to 150,000 bpd.

Malaysian state oil firm Petronas holds 68 percent of Block 5A, India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp. has 24 percent and Sudan’s state-owned Sudapet has the remaining 8 percent.

Petronas declined to comment on Monday.

The source said the new crude was similar in quality to Nile Blend, Sudan’s main export grade which has found a ready market in China and Japan.

Sudan produces around 330,000 bpd of Nile Blend crude, a heavy grade with a low-sulphur content, which can be burnt by power generators in Japan and has a high fuel oil yield.

The new production from Thar Jath comes as a relief to Sudan, whose second major crude stream, Dar Blend, has been delayed by a year due to technical problems. The Dar Blend field could produce up to 200,000 bpd once fully on stream.

(Reuters)