Sudan doubles crude exports to China in 2007

January 22, 2008 (BEIJING) — Crude oil exports from Sudan to China more than doubled last year to top 200,000 barrels a day, with official data showing that China now takes 40 percent of the east African producer’s total output.

Sudan exported 10.31 million tonnes to China in 2007, or 113 percent above 2006, ranking as Beijing’s sixth-largest crude supplier, with 6 percent of the total crude imports to the world’s second-largest oil user, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

The surge in Sudanese oil was due to the rising production at Block 3/7, which started up in August 2006 and produces a heavy, highly acidic crude Dar Blend, traders said.

State energy group CNPC, parent of PetroChina , is the largest oil investor in Sudan, owning 41 percent of block 3/7 and 40 percent of the 1/2/4 field, which produces Nile Blend crude.

Sudan now stood within striking distance of the fifth-largest exporter, Oman, where sales in 2007 sales went up a marginal 3.7 percent to 270,000 bpd.

Saudi Arabia, Angola, Iran and Russia were the top four exporters, among which Iran recorded the biggest increase — 22 percent over a year earlier, the data recorded.

State refiner Sinopec Corp raised spot purchases on top of term supplies, traders have said.

The data also showed that supplies from Russia came down 9 percent at 290,000 bpd, which traders attributed partly to below-target sales through railways.

For this year, Riyadh is set to remain Beijing’s top oil supplier, as the Kingdom agreed to raise exports by nearly 40 percent to some 720,000 bpd, to feed China’s new refining facilities, Beijing-based traders have told Reuters.

Since Beijing has agreed to raise imports from Tehran by about 100,000 bpd under a one-year supply pact, Iran could soon overtake Angola as China’s No.2 supplier.

(Reuters)