DATE=1/17/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=SUDAN PIPELINE (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-258142
BYLINE=SCOTT BOBB
DATELINE=CAIRO
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: In Sudan, workers are rushing to repair an oil
pipeline damaged in an attack by members of an
opposition group. Middle-East Correspondent Scott
Bobb reports Sudanese officials say they plan to
resume pipeline operations Tuesday.
TEXT: Sudanese news media say Energy Minister Awad
Ahmed Jazz flew with a group of engineers to an area
near the Eritrean border to inspect the pipeline which
was damaged in the attack Sunday.
Authorities say they found pamphlets in the area
signed by a group called the Beja Conference. A
representative of the group -- based in Asmara,
Eritrea -- claimed responsibility.
The group reportedly belongs to the opposition
National Democratic Alliance. The Alliance last year
called for the overthrow of the Sudanese government,
which came to power in a military coup 10-years ago.
But in recent months, some of the group's leaders have
been involved in reconciliation talks with government
officials.
It was the second attack on the pipeline in four
months.
The 16-hundred-kilometer pipeline was completed six-
months ago to transport crude oil from the Higlig
fields in western Sudan to a refinery and export
terminal at Port Sudan on the Red Sea.
With the completion of the pipeline, Sudan has become
a net petroleum exporter. Officials in its oil
industry have told V-O-A as much as 100-thousand
barrels-a-day of high-quality crude is being exported.
At current prices, these exports would provide nearly
one-billion dollars a year in new foreign exchange
earnings. But some opposition groups have threatened
to sabotage the pipeline until some of the revenues
are distributed to them.
Oil industry sources say the pipeline has the capacity
to carry three-times the present amount of crude.
They also say production at the Higlig oil fields
could be tripled in a matter of years. But they say
businessmen are reluctant to invest too heavily in
developing the fields, as long as there is a threat of
instability in the region. (SIGNED)
NEB/SB/JWH/RAE
17-Jan-2000 11:43 AM EDT (17-Jan-2000 1643 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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