Sudan’s National Petroleum Commission (NPC) has mapped out a new oil concession in the southern region of the country, calling it Block Ea, according to officials.
South Sudan’s Industry and Mining Minister John Luk said the location of the new block followed an application by the privately owned H Oil Group, Limassol.
Luk did not reveal the total acreage of the block but said H Oil had asked for the entire area. Luk said the H Oil application would be considered by next month.
Meanwhile, Luk said, officials adjusted the coordinates to allow opportunities for other companies interested in applying to work on the block. He did not say which, if any, other companies had expressed interest in the block.
Ea Block adjoins Total SA’s existing Blocks B and C as well as Block 5A, which is the site of Thar Jath oil field 900 km south of Khartoum in the Muglad basin.
Sudan signed an agreement in 2005 with White Nile Petroleum Operating Co. for development of Thar Jath and Mala fields on Block 5A. White Nile is comprised of operator Petronas 68.875%, Oil & Natural Gas Corp. 23.125%, and Sudapet 8%.
According to the US Energy Information Administration, first oil from Block 5A came online in June 2006 at an initial 38,000 b/d. As of March 2007, the field was still producing 38,000 b/d, while full capacity is estimated at 60,000 b/d. H Oil began negotiations with southern authorities for the area now called Block Ea before a 2005 peace agreement that ended more than 20 years of conflict between the Sudanese government and southern military forces.
In October 2005, as part of the peace agreement, Sudan established the NPC to bolster the development of the country’s oil resources.
To accomplish its mission, NPC allocates new oil contracts, and ensures an equal sharing of oil revenues between the national government in Khartoum and the South Sudan government.
