Sudan’s oil shipment normal despite floods -China

August 29, 2007 (BEIJING) — Sudan will keep exporting crude at a normal daily rate of around 400,000 barrels till the end of September, as its oilfields are unaffected by the country’s severe floods, a Chinese trader said on Thursday.

State-run Chinese energy giant CNPC is the largest oil investor in the northeastern African country, producing some half million barrels of oil a day, operating two key oilfields — block 1/2/4 and block 3/7.

“The shipment programme shows that floods are not having any impact on exports till end of next month,” said the trader, who is familiar with Sudan’s export plans.

“We have not even been told of a 5 percent allowance cut in loading,” the official said, referring to a standard tolerance volume widely used by the oil trading community during actual loadings.

A Chinese industry newspaper said last week that both fields had been hit by floods, which Sudanese officials call the worst in living memory, and have claimed 89 lives and destroyed more than 70,000 homes.

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

China, also the largest buyer of Sudanese oil, brought home some 215,000 bpd in the first seven months of this year, or 43 percent of the total amount Sudan produces.

(Reuters)