Exploration Campaign in Darfur to Soon Become Reality

With the ongoing turmoil in Sudan’s Darfur, one would think that exploring for oil in the region would be the last thing on anyone’s mind, but it appears that the government of Sudan would like to bring potential Darfur reserves to market. The government is in talks with Ansan Wikfs Investments Ltd. to conduct seismic on Block 12A in Northern Darfur.

“Preparations are ongoing to launch a small campaign of 1,000 km of seismic,” Denis Rey, Ansan Wikfs’ country manager in Sudan told Dow Jones Newswire in an email. Rey said the partners in Block 12A had considered using BGP, a CNPC subsidiary

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Ansan Wikfs during Q1 2008 with the block’s joint operators, Sudapet, Ansan, and Saudi Arabia’s Al-Qahtani Group. Other shareholders in the block 12A include Dindir Petroleum, Hi-Tech Petroleum Group, and All Africa Investment Corp. The MoU also includes a provision to swap seismic contracts and share information with South Africa’s PetroSA who operates the neighboring block. 

Hi-Tech Petroleum Group, is partly owned by President Omar Al Bashir’s brother which could result in some resentment from the local communities. Any exploration in the region could also be fraught with danger due to the ongoing violence that seems to have spread from Western Darfur into all Darfur regions. Companies exploring on the fringes of Darfur in the South Kordofan region have had facilities attacked and workers kidnapped by Darfur rebels and exploration efforts on Block 12 A could face similar attacks.

The government has offered troops to protect any campaign launched on the block and it has been reported that BGP has also looked into the security situation on the block.