Page 4 - AfrOil Week 38

AfrOil COMMENTARY AfrOil

(Image: GNPOC)
(Image: GNPOC)
OVL ready to quit Sudan

With Khartoum failing to meet financial obligations and the amount of oil

involved remaining small, the Indian company has little reason to stay

ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), the foreign projects As a result of that split, most of the oil-bear-
arm of India’s Oil & Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC), ing areas ended up in the South Sudanese por-
WHAT: has decided to withdraw from Sudan. tion, which consists of Blocks 1A, 1B and 4S. The
India’s OVL is reportedly Sources inside the company told the Indian other sections, consisting of Blocks 2A, 2B and
preparing to exit the press last week that the move to exit Greater Nile 4N, remained in Sudan’s hands.
GNPOC project. Petroleum Operating Co. (GNPOC) stemmed OVL and the other partners in the group
from long-running financial disputes with the have been at odds with Sudanese authorities
WHY: Sudanese authorities. Those disagreements, in ever since. Officials in Khartoum had antici-
Khartoum has not upheld turn, are rooted in the project’s history. pated that members of GNPOC would con-
its pledge to compensate tinue to extract oil from the Sudanese portion
the company for its oil Downhill path of the blocks and to transport their production
production or for its past The Indian company holds a 25% stake in to market via the pipeline they had already built
construction work on a GNPOC, which is developing Blocks 2A and to Port Sudan.
pipeline to Port Sudan.
4N in the Muglad Basin in southern Sudan. They changed course, though, after deter-
It entered the consortium in 2003, eight years mining that Sudan’s share of production from
WHAT NEXT: before South Sudan gained independence from Blocks 2A, 2B and 4N would not keep local
Sudan may experience
another round of fuel Khartoum. At the time, GNPOC controlled refineries running at capacity. Specifically,
shortages if GNPOC’s three sites known as Blocks 1, 2 and 4. In 2011, they asked OVL and the other investors in the
members quit. though, the licence area was split between Sudan project to sell their shares of oil production to
and South Sudan. Khartoum.

P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 38 23•September•2020