The Sudan National Petroleum Corporation (Sudapet) is in negotiations with Norwegian company, Monitor Power System (MPS) on the construction of a thermal power plant in Sudan.

Earlier this year, MPS signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Corporation for the financing and implementation of a project for the burning of natural gas in Block 4 and 6 for power generation.

MPS with other international companies made an offer to the Sudanese government which was accepted, although MPS has changed its initial partners.

The agreement covers the construction of gas pipelines that will transfer gas from the oil-production areas, alongside a natural gas treatment plant. The $800 million 460 MW thermal power station will be built in El Fula, the capital of West Kordofan state.

The gas produced will be used to fuel the power station and will be used for the production of 350 tons of liquified petroleum gas for cooking, and the production of 3,000 barrels of condensed gas to increase the production of gasoline in refineries.

There is currently a study being carried out in France and it is said that the current negotiations will confirm funding when the study is complete, and the project implementation will begin. The study which is to be completed by the end of this year will help to determine the volume of natural gas reserves present.

The proposal and design of the project were developed by Sudapet with the support of a German firm.

Below are excerpt’s from what Sudapet’s director, Ayman Aboul-Goukh said about the project:

“Negotiations are still taking place with MPS, which made an integrated offer to finance and implement the project with costs of around $800 million.”

“Still there are several requirements that they must meet, the most important of which is the funding.”

“We are still evaluating them technically and studying the financial offer.”

“The project implementation will not begin before the completion of this study,” Aboul-Goukh states. We have the initial volumes of natural gas reserves, but we must make sure that the gas supply continues for more than 20-25 years.”