In June 2004, Petrodar, a consortium of CNPC (41%), Petronas (40%),
Sudapet (8%), Gulf Oil Petroleum (6%), and the al-Thani Corp (5%)
awarded a $239m contract to Ranhill International of Malaysia and
Sudan's Petroneeds Services International for development work on
Blocks 3 and 7 in the Melut Basin. The blocks contain the Adar Yale and
Palogue oilfields, with estimated recoverable reserves of 460m barrels.
In January 2007, Blocks 3 and 7 combined produced 170,000 b/d of Dar
Blend crude oil - a heavy/sweet but acidic grade. The fields may exceed
200,000 b/d later in 2007, provided that a North-South peace is
restored.
In November 2005, CNPC brought online the Petrodar pipeline linking
the two blocks to Port Sudan. The pipeline in early 2007 had a
throughput of 150,000 b/d. But now it has a capacity of 500,000 b/d. The
system includes a 300,000 b/d central processing facility at
al-Jabalayan and production facilities at Palogue. The pipeline, with
the full capacity reached recently, will enable Blocks 3/7 and other oil
producing areas to export their heavy/sweet and acidic crudes. Khartoum
hopes output from these fields could reach up to 400,000 b/d by
end-2007, but there may be delays in reaching such a target.
In September 2005, a contract was awarded for Petronas to have a
new 100,000 b/d refinery built at Port Sudan. The refinery has been
designed to process the Dar Blend crude, which has high-acid content and
is found in Sudan's Melut basin. The refinery will have capacity of
100,000 b/d and could be operational in 2009. Petronas is joined with
the Sudanese Ministry of Energy and Mining in a 50:50 partnership in the
project.
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