Sudan is keen to expand cooperation with Russia in oil production and is in talks with the country’s major energy companies as it seeks to cut reliance on crude imports, Acting Sudanese Energy and Oil Minister Mohamed Abdallah told RIA Novosti.  

The official noted that several Russian companies are already operating in Sudan and said that Khartoum is negotiating more investment in its energy sector with Rosneft and Zarubezhneft.  

Abdallah described Russia as a state “with great technological capabilities” and explained that as Sudan seeks to increase domestic oil production, it wants Moscow to help develop the necessary infrastructure.   

Upon separating from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan gained 75% of national oil fields. However, the entire infrastructure needed for oil exports remained in Sudan. Since the secession, oil production in both countries has declined due to continued political instability.  

Khartoum has failed to increase its crude output in recent years and is now capable of producing “just 40,000-50,000 barrels per day, which is not sufficient for domestic consumption,” Abdallah explained.

“We are keen to modernize [oil fields] and boost domestic oil production in order to reach self-sufficiency and cut reliance on crude imports from South Sudan,” he noted, adding that the country is also keen to become a regional crude exporter.  

Earlier, the head of the Russian Energy Ministry’s International Cooperation Department, Dmitry Semyonov, said that the two countries were looking into opportunities to expand cooperation in the oil sector beyond production. Russia is ready to share technology with Sudan in various areas, including oil recovery, the utilization of associate gas, oil refining, and petrochemicals production, Semyonov added.