Sudan refinery expansion to be ready in 2011

ABU DHABI, June 3 (Reuters) – Sudan is expecting to complete work to double the capacity of the country’s largest refinery in Khartoum in 2011, a senior official said on Wednesday.
Sudan which currently pumps some 500,000 barrels a day, will boost capacity of the refinery to 200,000 bpd, Salah H. Wahbi, the president and chief executive of state oil firm Sudapet told reporters on the sidelines of an industry conference.
“They have already signed the contract…they should start work this year,” Wahbi said but declined to give an estimated cost of the expansion.
The refinery is a 50:50 joint venture with CNPC, parent of PetroChina (601857.SS)(0857.HK).
The expansion will include the addition of secondary units aimed at boosting refined fuels production which will be sold into the domestic market as well as the international market, he said.
Soaring costs have already forced Sudan and Malaysia’s Petronas [PETR.UL] to defer plans to build a 100,000 bpd refinery in the African country.
Sudan has four refineries with a total capacity of around 142,000 bpd. It exports small amounts of gasoline but still needs to import diesel to power a growing number of cars.
(Reporting by Luke Pachymuthu; Editing by Keiron Henderson)