Sudan Targets Increasing Oil Production to 31 Million Barrels

Sudan Targets Increasing Oil Production to 31 Million  Barrels
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Sudan Targets Increasing Oil Production to 31 Million Barrels

Sudan Targets Increasing Oil Production to 31 Million  Barrels

 The Sudanese cabinet approved several measures aimed at raising the country’s oil production to 31 million barrels this year, with revenues reaching one billion dollars.

The government’s production of crude oil is expected to reach about 11 million barrels in 2018 and increase to 17.1 million barrels by 2020, said spokesman for the cabinet Omar Mohammed Saleh in a statement. While international oil firms produce around 20 million barrels.

Sudan has been experiencing a fuel shortage crisis for more than a month, which led to the sacking of the former oil minister and the appointment of Azhari Abdul Qader Abdullah Mahlah last week.

The minister announced on Sunday a gradual easing of the fuel crisis and a decline in waiting lines in front of gas stations.

The Gas Distribution Agents Union began distributing cooking gas especially in residential neighborhoods at a normal pace, as well as controlling the commodity to ensure its delivery to the citizens without intermediaries.

The government expects the fuel crisis to ease soon.

Head of the Gas Distribution Agents Union El Sadig El Tayeb told Asharq Al-Awsat that the crisis is on the way to being resolved following the suspension of the work of oil trucks for more than a week, earlier this month.

Sudan announced last February that its oil reserves have risen to 165 million barrels after testing the first well in the Rawat field.

The current exploration field increases the production capacity to 40,000 barrels per day due to the efforts of Sudanese workers in the field.

Production began in Rawat field years ago with a capacity of 2,500 barrels, and it is expected to rise to 7,000 barrels per day during the next phase.



Egypt Targets 10 mln Ton Wheat Harvest

A farmer shows wheat plants at a field in Al Fayoum Governorate, southwest of Cairo, Egypt March 21, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
A farmer shows wheat plants at a field in Al Fayoum Governorate, southwest of Cairo, Egypt March 21, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
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Egypt Targets 10 mln Ton Wheat Harvest

A farmer shows wheat plants at a field in Al Fayoum Governorate, southwest of Cairo, Egypt March 21, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
A farmer shows wheat plants at a field in Al Fayoum Governorate, southwest of Cairo, Egypt March 21, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo

Egypt expects to harvest 10 million tonnes of wheat this year, up from 9 million in 2023, driven by improved crop yields and ambitious land reclamation efforts, Agriculture Minister Alaa Farouk told Reuters late on Wednesday.

He said 3.1175 million feddans (about 1.30 million hectares) have been cultivated this season — slightly lower than the 3.5 million feddans announced earlier by the planning ministry and 3.2 million feddans in 2024 (1.34 million hectares), suggesting a possible decline in total wheat area.

Farmers have told Reuters that wheat has become less profitable compared to crops like beet, whose area increased from 500,000 feddans (210,000 hectares) to 700,000 feddans (294,000 hectares) this year.

The government plans to buy 4-5 million tonnes of local wheat and import about 6 million tonnes to provide heavily subsidised bread for over 69 million Egyptians.

Farouk said newer high-yield wheat strains developed by the Agricultural Research Center have raised productivity by 7-8.5%.

"This is vertical expansion, and horizontal expansion is coming," he said.

That horizontal expansion is led by the Mostakbal Misr for Sustainable Development, which plans to reclaim 4 million feddans across the country.

Farouk said some of that land is ready for production and the rest will follow in the next two years, offering major opportunities for agricultural investment.

Mostakbal Misr, recently tasked with wheat imports, is also developing infrastructure and growing crops tailored to local consumption, exports and agri-processing, Farouk said..

Farouk added the government is studying a potential rise in local fertilizer prices. Urea and nitrate fertilizers cost around 9,500 Egyptian pounds ($185) per tonne to produce but are sold at a subsidized 4,500 ($87.63). Export prices reach up to 20,000 pounds ($389.48), Farouk said.