New Sudan minister pledges oil transparency
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan on Wednesday said it would publish daily production figures and conduct a full independent audit of the oil industry since 2005, a move analysts said could help prevent future conflict over oil.
The pledge was designed to remove a potential bone of contention ahead of a referendum in southern Sudan on whether the semi-autonomous region -- where much of the oil lies -- should become an independent state.
Sudan's oil industry has long been opaque. Western firms mostly pulled out during a north-south civil war and the sector is currently dominated by Asian companies.
The bulk of Sudan's estimated 6 billion barrels of oil reserves are in the landlocked south, but most of the pipelines, the refineries and the port are in the north.
"We hope to comfort all the Sudanese people that there will be transparency even if there was none in the past," said new Energy Minister Lual Deng, who is from the former southern rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM).
"The audit is basically to look at the production since 2005 -- it will be done by an independent firm," Deng said. "Our preference is to accelerate the process so that the results are made available before the referendum," he added.
Under a 2005 peace accord that ended Africa's longest civil war the south was granted the right to vote on independence from the north, a ballot scheduled for January 9 2011.
PRODUCTION FIGURES
Wednesday's conference was sparked by a report by the non-governmental Global Witness group, which found discrepancies in the few published figures on Sudan's oil production and prices and urged transparency to avoid future conflict.
North-south tensions have risen over a lack of information which led many southerners to doubt they were receiving the 50 percent of oil revenues from wells in the south they were due.
Deng said production figures would be published daily on the ministry's web site and he would work with the finance ministry to ensure oil revenue figures were also made available.
He said current crude production was around 450,000-470,000 barrels per day and he hoped that to rise to at least 600,000 bpd next year.
That could reach 650,000 bpd on the back of increased production from Block 6 and more efficient oil recovery techniques, he added.
European firms had begun to take more of an interest and Total -- the largest Western firm with a concession in Sudan -- would be starting work on its Block B in the south soon, Deng said.
"Total...wanted to have assurances about what will happen after the referendum and they have been assured that their contract will be respected regardless of the outcome," he said.
National elections in April had not been violent, an indicator likely to attract investors to Sudan's oil sector, he added.
Most analysts believe the south will secede next year and investors worry because much of the oil lies along the border dividing Sudan's two halves, which is still disputed. However, most expect any secession to be amicable given both sides dependence on oil.
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