India vows timely completion of Sudan pipeline
India Saturday assured Sudan of timely completion of the 714-km petroleum products pipeline from the Khartoum refinery here to Port Sudan on Red Sea by August-end.
Hailing the initiative of India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) in raising funds for the estimated $200-million pipeline, Sudanese Energy and Mining Minister Awad Ahmed Al-Jazz expressed the hope that the pipeline "would benefit every one".
Several Sudanese ministers, including Finance Minister Alubair Mohamed Al Hassan and Investment Minister Al Shareef Ahmed Omer Badr, senior officials and Indian ambassador to Sudan Ashok Kumar, attended the groundbreaking ceremony at the Khartoum refinery.
The second petroleum products pipeline being constructed in Sudan would help the Khartoum refinery, which is being upgraded by ONGC to handle a larger capacity, in transporting petroleum goods for export market.
While ONGC through its overseas arm, ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL), is handling the project and providing funds, it has selected Indian firm Dodsal to handle the EPC (execution, production and construction) contract for the refinery, 70 km from the capital in north.
Al-Jazz said: "We are in a hurry and will be waiting for you (India) to complete this project. India has offered to build us a refinery of 100,000 barrels per day capacity."
He hoped more Indian companies would follow in ONGC's footsteps and invest in Sudan.
Assuring fulfilment of all quality norms, ONGC chairman Subir Raha said: "We would ensure timely completion of the project as per specification by August-end."
Calling it a fruit of mutual bilateral cooperation between India and Sudan, the secretary-general of the energy and mining ministry, Omar Mohamed Khan, said: "At a time when Sudan is celebrating the signing of a comprehensive peace treaty, the pipeline represents a significant step for petroleum transportation. Infrastructure like this is very vital for our fast development."
- Database Search
- Unpaid Debt A comprehensive overview of the role of the Lundin Consortium in the oil war. ECOS calls upon the Swedish, Austrian and Malaysian governments to investigate whether, as a matter of international law, Lundin, OMV and Petronas 'were complicit in the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity by others during the period 1997-2003.’ In response, the Swedish Public Prosecutor for International crimes opened a criminal investigation into ‘links between Sweden and the reported crimes’.
- In Depth For more specific information about the Lundin court case please visit the Unpaid Debt dossier.
