Oil exploration launched in northern Sudan: minister

KHARTOUM, June 8 (AFP) — Oil exploration started Tuesday for the first time in northern Sudan, Energy and Mines Minister Awar Ahmed al-Jaz announced.

Exploration was launched “in the Jazira region, on block nine which covers the states of Jazira, Khartoum and the Nile”, Jaz told reporters, without naming the company involved.

He said the work started in Kapalgibad, 60 kilometres (36 miles) north of the capital.

Most of Sudan’s oil is produced at the Heglig-Unity oil field in central Sudan, near the combat zone between the army and southern rebels.

The government and rebels last Saturday signed a Nairobi declaration recommitting themselves to a series of peace protocols.

Jaz said last year that oil production varied between 270,000 and 300,000 barrels a day in Heglig-Unity. The Heglig field began producing crude in August 1999, when Sudan launched exports.

Sudan’s reserves are estimated at more than two billion barrels, with 700 million barrels in proven reserves, according to official figures.