Oil companies operating in the oil fields of Sudan and South Sudan on Wednesday briefed the African Union panel facilitating negotiations between the two countries.
The Sudanese News Agency reported Thursday that the firms provided detailed and technical briefing and assessment on the oil production and marketing operations and the obstacles facing this process, as the AU High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) continues the process of resolving outstanding issues between the two nations, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, this week.
It said the companies, apparently anxious to see the two sides reach an agreement on oil so that could fully engage in production, also provided proposals to overcome these impediments.
Former President of Burundi, Mr. Pierre Buyoya, chaired the briefing session, at which representatives of the eight major oil companies operating in the oil fields presented a review of the oil production, and made suggestions and recommendations to guarantee continuity of the oil production process.
The summation of the briefing is that the continuity of the oil production process requires the support of the governments of the two countries.
The companies working in Sudan and South Sudan include the Sudapet, the Chinese National Petroleum Company, the Malaysian PETRONAS Company, the Indian oil and Natural Gas Company, TRI-OCEAN company which is a consortium of Arab investors, Petrodar Company, a Consortium of companies, the Greater Nile Petroleum Company and the White Nile Consortium.
The two sides are currently in the Ethiopian capital to work out an agreement on how the oil produced in the south could be refined, piped and exported from the North, at a cost acceptable to both sides.
They will also discuss other outstanding issues, including border security and the status of Abyei, under the mediation of the Thabo Mbeki-led AU panel
