Floods may affect oil output in Sudan – China

August 22, 2007 (BEIJING) — Output at oilfields operated by China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) in Sudan have been little affected so far but could see production fall further if heavy floods continue, Chinese traders said on Wednesday.

The Chinese firm’s key 1/2/4 block, which normally produces 275,000 barrels a day of low-sulphur Nile Blend crude, has so far been little affected by floods, traders said, but declined to give an estimate for production loss.

CNPC’s in-house newspaper China Petroleum News reported on Tuesday that the field, as well as block 3/7 were hit by floods, which Sudanese officials call the worst in living memory, having claimed 89 lives and destroyed more than 70,000 homes.

“If the production cut is severe, we should have been informed. So my understanding is the impact so far has been minor,” said one trader close to CNPC’s crude sales from Sudan.

China, the largest investor in Sudan’s oil sector, is also its largest crude buyer.

CNPC, parent of PetroChina , owns 40 percent of 1/2/4 field and 41 percent in block 3/7 that produces Dar Blend crude.

China’s crude imports from Sudan rose sixfold in the first seven months of 2007 at 6.25 milllion tonnes, 215,300 barrels per day, official Chines customs data showed, or about 43 percent of the total amount Sudan produces.

(Reuters)