Sudan is launching a bid to entice US and European companies back to its struggling oil industry as once hostile relations between the former pariah state and western governments thaw, according to the country’s oil minister.

“We are open, without any discrimination at all,” said Azhari Abdalla, minister of petroleum and minerals, in an interview in the capital Khartoum. “Whoever wants to come we will receive them with open minds, with open arms and with policies that will facilitate their investments.” Activity in Sudan’s oil sector ground to a near halt in the past seven years after the secession of the southern half of the country reduced Sudan’s proven reserves by about 3.5bn barrels, or about 75 per cent.

Now, as relations between Sudan and the US improve, the ministry of petroleum plans to tender 30 to 35 new oil blocks in the second half of next year to revive exploration activity in the country, Mr Azhari told the Financial Times.

Selected by SPTEC Advisory from Financial Times