Sudan oil minister says energy cooperation with China fruitful
July 15, 2007 (BEIJING) — Since the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held in November last year, thanks to the joint efforts of China and Sudan, bilateral cooperation has further deepened within the framework of China-Africa cooperation. To date, cooperation between China and Sudan has covered multiple sectors, including energy, human resources development, and contracting of engineering projects. All the projects are progressing smoothly and have produced positive outcomes.
In an interview with the official Chinese news Agency Xinhua, Awad Ahmed Al-Jaz, Sudanese Minister of Energy and Mining, remarked that the energy industry is the most important area of cooperation between China and Sudan and also the most fruitful area of bilateral cooperation.
Al-Jaz stressed that over the past decade, encouraged by both Chinese and Sudanese governments, China National Petroleum Corporation [CNPC] has actively invested in Sudan and made important contributions to Sudan’s economic development and social progress. He pointed out: Thanks to the CNPC’s strong assistance, Sudan has transformed itself from a crude oil importing country into a crude oil exporting country and has established a complete industrial chain for the oil industry; led by the rapid development of the oil industry, Sudan’s overall economy is developing vigorously and entering a phase of economic boom.
Attention to human resources development is a salient feature of China-Sudan cooperation. According to the eight-point consensus reached at the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, China shall strengthen cooperation with Africa in such areas as human resources development and education and actively train and develop talent for Africa.
Al-Jaz told our reporter that the Chinese Government and a batch of Chinese enterprises, represented by the CNPC, have established a unique model of cooperation with the Sudanese Government and enterprises over time. Under this model, the Chinese Government and enterprises not only provide capital, technology, and equipment for Sudan, but also attach great importance to Sudan’s human resources development.
During his assignment, our reporter noticed that all the projects that the CNPC has invested in so far around Sudan are actively training and employing local Sudanese employees, to translate into action the consensus of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation on human resources development. In the CNPC-invested projects, such as oilfields and the Khartoum oil refinery, numerous CNPC-trained local Sudanese employees are working there. They include not only a large number of operatives, but also a batch of mid-level and senior professional managers.
Zhu Junfeng, head of the CNPC Coordination and Leading Group for Sudan Projects and general manager of CNPC International (Nile) Limited emphasized in an interview with our reporter that all the ongoing CNPC projects in Sudan employ a large number of local Sudanese employees and in some projects, over 90 per cent of the staff are local Sudanese. He remarked that training local Sudanese employees not only satisfies the demand of the projects for skilled manpower, but also produces a large number of operatives and managerial talent for Sudan’s oil industry. He said: The CNPC’s projects in Sudan will strive towards mutually beneficial and win-win outcomes by sharing interests with the people of Sudan.
Hao Hongshe, commercial counsellor with the Economic and Commercial Section of the Chinese embassy in Sudan, said: Besides energy and human resources development, the cooperation between China and Sudan is currently developing in greater depth across a wider scope on a continuous basis. Besides oil projects, a large number of engineering contracting projects are making smooth progress and have produced positive results. With significant economic and social benefits, these projects have a bearing on Sudan’s national economy and the livelihood of its people. The El Gaili Power Station project that Harbin Power Engineering Company Limited is building in Sudan is one such project.
El Gaili Power Station is a large gas and oil-fired power plant planned by the Sudanese Ministry of Energy and Mining and Sudan National Electricity Corporation. This power station was to be built over four phases. For the first phase, the total contract value was $149 million and the installed capacity 200,000 kW. When it went into service in August 2004, its generation capacity accounted for approximately one third of Sudan’s national total at the time.
During our reporter’s assignment in Sudan, the second phase of the project was entering the completion stage. Lu Hua, manager of Phase II Extension of Sudan El Gaili Power Station of Harbin Power Engineering Company Limited, said: The smooth execution of the El Gaili Power Station project has solved the challenging problem of power shortage that confronted Sudan for many years. The local people lovingly refer to Chinese and Sudanese workers taking part in the project as “bringers of light.”
Al-Jaz said to our reporter: In recent years, the Sudanese oil industry has been developing vigorously, driving the rapid growth of Sudan’s national economy. Sudan’s overall economic strength is growing steadily and its investment environment is improving gradually. Sudan wishes to see the further promotion of cooperation in such sectors as natural gas, electricity, minerals, communications, and agriculture under the joint endeavour of the Chinese and Sudanese Governments in accordance with the eight-point consensus reached at the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. He expressed his conviction that with the joint efforts of China and Sudan, the cooperation between the two countries has huge potential and broad prospects.
(Xinhua in Chinese translated by BBCMS)