Sudan and South Sudan sign oil production agreement

In a statement to the press at Khartoum Airport after his return from Juba on Thursday, the undersecretary at the Ministry of Energy, Hamid Suleiman, announced the signing of a number of agreements with his counterpart in South Sudan.

Following a series of meetings, they agreed upon the need to increase oil production in South Sudan, to use and benefit from the expertise and capabilities available in Sudan, and to speed up procedures to open an coordination office in South Sudan.

They also agreed upon the need for cooperation through training centres, laboratories, refineries and other facilities in Sudan, the establishment of a partnership working in the field of seismic survey data processing, and the possibility of adding additional quantities of crude oil to the El Obeid refinery.

Hamid Suleiman also confirmed the need to open border control posts between the two countries to alleviate trading obstacles.

On September 25, Sudan and South Sudan the signed a draft agreement to develop oil cooperation between the two countries. Acting Energy Minister, Kheiri Abdelrahman, told the Sky News Arabia TV channel on November 13 that Sudan will offer 27 oil concession blocks through a global bid, of which three are offshore blocks and the rest are land blocks.

Arab energy

On Friday, energy ministers from Israel, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Morocco, Sudan and Bahrain had a video call on cooperation in the oil, gas, and renewable energy sectors.

According to a press statement, the ministers also discussed how to enable diplomatic relations and “bring about a revolution in national security and economic prosperity.” They also spoke about the need to adhere to peace agreements, and the need to invest in the energy sector and establish infrastructure and technology.

During the past few months, Israel has reached agreements to normalize relations with four Arab countries, including the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco.

In a joint statement by Sudan, the US, and Israel on October 23, the three countries “agreed to the normalisation of relations between Sudan and Israel and to end the state of belligerence between their nations.” The announcement was made shortly after an unofficial announcement by US President Donald Trump on Twitter that the designation of Sudan as a State Sponsor of Terrorism would be rescinded, after the transitional government of Sudan transferred $335 million into an escrow account for US victims of terror and their families.

According to the independent Israeli online newspaper The Times of Israel, Sudan negotiated with the US for an additional $3-4 billion in economic aid in exchange for normalising relations with Israel.