Search results

Following on from major decisions by multilateral institutions, the Club de Paris (CdP) formally agreed to restructure bilateral Sudanese debt at the creditor governments’ 15 July meeting. The CdP element is near half of the total external debt – put at $56.2bn in net present value (NPV) terms as of end-June – standing at $23.3bn (multilaterals hold $5.6bn and others around $20bn).

Finance minister and economic planning minister Jibril Ibrahim Mohammed on 8 June announced the removal of subsidies on petrol and diesel, telling retailers to raise the price of petrol by 93%, to S$290 ($0.67)/ltr, and diesel by 128%, to SP285/ltr – another big hike, if less than in the government’s initial fuel and electricity price increases.

Khartoum is planning to boost production from domestic oil and gas fields to supply local power plants, energy and petroleum minister Gadein Ali Obeid told African Energy during an online session organised by Germany’s Africa Verein on 9 June.

Production in Block 5A – operated by Sudd Petroleum Operating Company (Spoc) – resumed in June from the Tharjiath central processing facility after seven years of production shutdown due to civil war.

South Sudan announced plans in early June to auction 14 oil and gas exploration blocks in a forthcoming series of licensing bid rounds. The campaign will involve up to five roadshows as Juba looks to attract interest in acreage located close to producing blocks in Muglad and Melut in Republic of Sudan and South Sudan and to the Anza basin in Kenya.

Regional rivals Qatar and the UAE are both seeking a role in mediating cross-border disputes in East Africa – which some in the Gulf see as their geopolitical ‘near abroad’ – centred on Ethiopia. They are also searching for a role in post-conflict Libya. While there are potential benefits for African countries seeking investment and diplomatic support, the two Gulf states’ efforts suggest they may find it hard to remain neutral actors

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) on 23 April approved a proposal to clear $413m-worth of arrears owed by Sudan to the Abidjan-based institution, for which the UK and Sweden have offered the necessary funds. The UK will provide bridge financing to clear Sudan’s arrears to the AfDB’s African Development Fund, while Sweden has committed $4.2m in grant financing to meet Sudan’s AfDB burden-share.

Construction of the pilot turbine at the planned Dongola Wind farm will be completed by the end of June, following some Covid-19-related delays, Sudan’s Wind Energy Project (WEP) has told African Energy. The pilot scheme is using a DW54-900kW turbine from the Netherland’s Emergya Wind Technologies and will be used as a case study for three full-scale WEP plants: Dongola (100MW), Nyala (20MW) and Red Sea (180MW).

A mid-January agreement between Sudan and South Sudan to expand oil cooperation has raised expectations of improved relations yielding material benefits for both states from the south’s under-utilised hydrocarbons reserves. But familiar obstacles are blocking progress, writes James Gavin.

As Sudan looks to improve ties with the West following its removal from the US State Sponsors of Terrorism list, China’s longstanding close ties with Khartoum are under pressure over unpaid debt owed to CNPC. In the context of China’s wider recalibration of its resource relationship with Africa, Sudan’s role is steadily diminishing, writes James Gavin.

The signing of a peace agreement with a coalition of rebel groups hands Sudan’s interim leadership a chance to press the restart button on relations with the regions, potentially ending years of conflict and yielding opportunities for the country’s shrunken oil sector, writes James Gavin

The US decision to remove Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, announced on 19 October, should open the way for a multilateral debt deal and big new financial flows, but pressure to normalise relations with Israel will not play well with many Sudanese, adding to pressure on a transitional government struggling with severe economic pressures.

ONGC Videsh (OVL), China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Petronas have pulled out of blocks 2A and 4 because of the government’s failure to pay for oil lifted from the blocks. Press Trust of India quoted an ONGC official as saying Sudan owed OVL $430.69m and had not paid for oil since 2011, when South Sudan became an independent state.

International efforts to channel financial and technical support to Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional administration will intensify when Berlin hosts a much-anticipated Sudan Partnership Conference on 25 June. Convened by Germany, Republic of Sudan, the United Nations and European Union, the conference follows initial talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a staff-monitored programme, which would be a significant move towards reintegrating Khartoum into a donor-backed reform process.

The standoff between Sudan’s diffuse opposition movement and the military junta that replaced President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir in mid-April has deepened as both sides – each in their own way deeply divided – dig in. This could pose major problems for Africa and a creaking international order.While US national security adviser John Bolton was quick to condemn violence against peaceful demonstrators, Washington, former colonial power Britain, and other European states are not expected to play a defining role.