India keen to invest more in Sudan’s oil sector

NEW DELHI - India Saturday expressed keenness to invest in the oil sector of the north african state of Sudan and the latter offered to increase the supply of its crude to New Delhi during bilateral discussions here.

At a meeting of the Indian Petroleum Minister Murli Deora and the visiting Sudanese Petroleum Minister Lual A. Deng, it was “agreed that Sudanese side will make a detailed presentation to the oil PSUs (Public Sector Units) about forthcoming investment opportunities in the exploration blocks,” said a ministry of petroleum and natural gas release.

The meeting was also attended by Minister of State for Petroleum Jitin Prasada, Petroleum Secretary S. Sundareshan and heads of state oil firms.

During the talks, Sudan offered to export more crude to India. “It was informed that Indian companies like Indian Oil Corporation are big importers of crude and would be interested to explore the possibilities in this regard,” it said.

Indian Oil Corporation also agreed to help Sudan in the production of bio-fuels.

Besides, state oil explorer ONGC offered to assist in increasing production of existing fields.

“The Indian side underlined that ONGC has deployed its best experts in the Greater Nile Oil Project which helped in increasing the production from about 220 thousand barrels of oil per day (BOPD) to 320 thousand BOPD besides raising the oil reserves in the fields,” it added.

The two ministers also agreed that the first meeting of the Joint Working Group on hydrocarbon sector will be held soon.