Sudan in talks with China for expansion of Khartoum oil refinery

October 8, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese government revealed that it held meetings recently in the Chinese capital of Beijing to discuss the financial and technical arrangements for executing a plan to expand the country’s largest refinery.

The Khartoum refinery, located 70km north of the Sudanese capital, was established as a 50-50 partnership between the Sudanese Ministry of Oil and the Chinese National Petroleum Company (CNPC).

The minister of state at the Ministry of Oil Mahmoud Abdel-Rahman said that expanding the refinery is needed in order to boost production quantity and quality.

He said that their goal is to meet a growing demand for petroleum products by focusing on gasoline and natural gas, noting that it could aid the creation and development of petrochemical industries and coal production for use in generating electricity.

A meeting of the refinery management, which was held in Beijing, established working groups from the Sudanese and Chinese side to discuss the financial and technical arrangements for the expansion.

The meeting also reviewed the refinery’s performance during the first half of the year and arrangements for Sudanization.

Khartoum refinery became operational in May 2000 with a capacity of 50,000 barrels per day and seeking to bring that up to 200,000.

(ST)