Death raises Sudan oil tensions
The untimely death of the South Sudanese leader John Garang in a helicopter crash has re-ignited competition between oil companies.
Many are keen to develop Africa's most promising untapped reserves.
Garang had ties with a small British company, White Nile, which claims exploration rights to an area which may have up to a billion barrels of crude.
There's speculation his death will strengthen French oil company, Total, which also claims rights over the area.
Competing claims
White Nile's shares fell 12% on Monday following news of Garang's death, even though the company denied operations would be affected.
It is easy to see why investors were nervous. Garang played an important role in a deal that gives White Nile a 60% stake in developing the Block Ba oil concession, a region thought to contain $200bn worth of untapped oil at current prices.
White Nile has only been in business two years. It was founded by a former star of the England cricket team, Phil Edmonds, who developed a strong working relationship with the ex-rebel leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement.
White Nile has certainly been popular with British investors - its shares rose more than tenfold in their first month's trading on London's Alternative Investment Market.
The company says Garang's death won't affect its exploration concession as the deal it signed is backed by other high-ranking figures in southern Sudan's semi-autonomous government.
Political dimension
Meanwhile, the French oil giant Total claims to have rights over the same area under a 1980 agreement it signed with the other side in the civil war - the national Sudanese government.
If nothing else, the dispute shows how oil and factional politics have got muddled up in one of Africa's most devastated but potentially wealthy regions.
The peace deal signed in January to end the 21-year-old civil war between north and south has unleashed a new form of conflict.
Chinese firms are now among the main players in a corporate battle over rights to Sudan's oil and mineral riches.
- 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.
