Despite Darfur, Indian oil investments balloon in Sudan

Even as the "humanitarian crisis" in Sudan's Darfur region hogs global attention, India is making huge investments in the oil-rich North African country that is set to become a major source for New Delhi's energy requirements. In all, India is set to invest nearly $2 billion in Sudan, making Khartoum the biggest recipient of New Delhi's foreign investment. The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) concluded a $198 million deal in Khartoum in June to lay a 714-km-long pipeline linking the capital Khartoum with Port Sudan. The latest investment came less than two years after the public sector ONGC Videsh Ltd., the overseas arm of the public sector oil exploration major, invested $750 million in the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company of Sudan. [more]