Sudan has joined the African Petroleum Producers Association

From Sudan Radio Service  Thursday 09 July 2009:

(London) – Sudan has joined the African Petroleum Producers Association, a move that is being seen as an opportunity to demonstrate greater transparency regarding oil revenue.

There have been widespread complaints by the SPLM over transparency in the oil revenue remitted to it by the NCP.

Francis Perrin is the editor of Arab Oil and Gas at the Arab Petroleum Research Center in Paris He spoke to Sudan Radio Service by phone on Thursday.

[Francis Perrin]: “The fact that Sudan is now a member-state of the African Petroleum Producers Association can of course be an opportunity for this country to go further down the road of transparency. It’s not one of the main aims of the APPA, the African Petroleum Producers Association, but it’s clear that in the present industrial context, every organization or producer and any organization linked to the oil industry is led to study transparency issues and to try to make some progress on this way. As the APPA is an organization whose main objectives are to develop cooperation and the sharing of knowledge and expertise amongst its member-states, including Sudan, it’s clear that Sudan will be in a position - if it wishes do so - of benefiting from the experiences of countries which are producing and exporting for a much longer time than Sudan.”

Perrin went on to explain the attraction of Sudan to countries like the United States.

[Francis Perrin]: “I do not know any consuming country, a big consuming country, which does not look at Sudan with some thoughts about oil. It does not mean that oil is the only issue or the only aspect which is of interest there. Also, of course, the political aspects, the strategic aspects, especially other economic aspects, other than oil, but oil of course figures as far as Sudan is concerned in its relationship with the external world, especially with the larger oil-consuming countries, whether they are in North America, in Asia, or Western Europe.”

That was Francis Perrin, the editor of Arab Oil and Gas at the Arab Petroleum Research Center in Paris.