KHARTOUM (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th January, 2019) Sudan hopes to sign new agreements with Russian state exploration company Rosgeologia, the country's deputy minister of petroleum and gas said on Thursday.
According to the Sudanese ministry, Azhari Ibrahim Basbar discussed with a Russian delegation the project on Rosgeologia's construction of an oil refinery in Port Sudan, gas exploration of Block 15 on the Red Sea shelf, bilateral relations and economic cooperation.
The deputy minister expressed hope that "the negotiations will result in signing agreements in the near future, especially because Sudan has large reserves of oil and natural gas," noting that Russia has modern technology and great expertise in the oil and gas industry.
He also commended the strength of "relations between Sudan and Russia, which embodies the spirit of joint cooperation in the implementation of a number of vital and important projects in Sudan."
The Russian delegation, in turn, expressed its full readiness to discuss all proposals and come to agreements that would help Rosgeologia to invest in the oil and gas sector of Sudan, the ministry said.
In July, Rosgeologia signed an agreement with the Sudanese Petroleum and Gas Ministry on the exploration and development of the Block 15 oil and gas deposit on the Sudanese shelf in the Red Sea. In September, the company's CEO Roman Panov told Sputnik that Rosgeologia would start exploration on Block 15 in 2019.
In December, it was reported that Rosgeologia will present an assessment of Block 15's potential in January.
