Mick Hartley

From the Times:

A major offensive involving 300 Sudanese government battlewagons intended to clear space for Chinese oil exploration in Darfur's far north has begun, according to rebel commanders who have come under attack.

Oil companies have been waiting for the Government to secure the region before starting work on seismic surveys.

The claims of fresh fighting come after Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese President, embarked on a two-day peace mission to Darfur last month, promising investment and inviting rebel leaders to talks.  […]

Sudan is already one of Africa's biggest producers of crude oil, pumping 500,000 barrels a day. About two thirds is destined for China. Chinese companies have begun exploration in South Darfur. North Darfur lies in an oil exploration block controlled by a Saudi-led consortium and the area close to the Libyan border is thought to be the most likely to hold reserves.

Last month Ansan Wikfs, a Yemen-based firm, said that it was in talks with two Chinese exploration companies to begin seismic surveys there. However, no work could begin until the area was under Sudanese military control. No-one from the company was available to comment.

Fouad Hikmat, a Sudan analyst with the International Crisis Group, said that the offensive bore all the hallmarks of an attempt to find oil.

“The Government believes it can have development in areas where it has military control even though there is war all around. It is what they did in south Sudan during the civil war there and it appears to be what they are now doing in North Darfur,” he said.

From the Telegraph:

The area is part of Sudan's oil Block 12A, currently operated by a Saudi Arabian firm, al-Qahtani.

It is understood that Chinese companies, which dominate the oil fields in Sudan's centre and south, now want to drill exploration wells in North Darfur but have been barred from starting work by the presence of the rebels.