Wednesday, June 05, 2013

Sudan Says Iraq Offers to Deliver Oil and Be Paid Later

Sudan says Iraq offers to deliver oil and be paid later

12:51pm EDT

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Iraq has agreed to export oil to Sudan and accept deferred payment, the investment minister of the African country, which is battling severe economic crisis, said on Wednesday.

Sudan has been struggling to meet local demand for diesel and other oil products since losing most of its crude output with the secession of South Sudan in 2011. Oil used to be the main source of revenue for the budget and of dollars needed to pay for imports.

"The Iraqi government agreed to provide Sudan, during our visit, with oil which we have to pay only at some point later," Investment Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail told reporters after returning from Baghdad.

"There is now a technical team from the Sudanese petroleum ministry (in Iraq) to discuss technical issues of the deal in terms of volumes and payments," he said, without giving details.

The oil ministry of Iraq, a major producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), did not respond immediately when asked to comment.

Sudan has said it is producing around 136,000 barrels per day of crude although some analysts say the figure is at least 10,000 bpd too high.

(Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz; Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Anthony Barker)

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