The Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company (GNPOC) is a

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...

exploration and production company operating in

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

. It was incorporated on 18 June 1997 and undertook construction of the Greater Nile Oil Pipeline which links Sudan's inland oil fields with refineries at

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...

and

Port Sudan Port Sudan (, Beja: ) is a port city on the Red Sea in eastern Sudan, and the capital of Red Sea State. Port Sudan is Sudan's main seaport and the source of 90% of the country's international trade. The population of Port Sudan was estimated in ...

. The GNPOC concession in the Western Upper Nile area includes the large Unity and Heglig

oil fields A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presen ...

plus smaller fields at El Toor, El Noor, Toma South, Bamboo, Munga and Diffra.

Headquarters

GNPOC Headquarters building is known the Greater Nile Petroleum Oil Company Tower or GNPOC Tower. The building is a high-rise building in

. Construction of the , 18-storey building was finished in 2010 and was designed by KEO International Consultants. The building housed the headquarters of the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company and it was designed by KEO International Consultants. Khartoum Fire

On 17 September 2023, the building suffered heavy fire damage amid the 2023 Sudan war during clashes between the

Sudanese Armed Forces The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF; ) are the military forces of the Republic of the Sudan. The force strength has been estimated at personnel in 2011 (by IISS), 200,000 personnel before the current war in Sudan broke out in 2023 (by the CIA), and ...

and

Rapid Support Forces The Rapid Support Forces (RSF; ) is a paramilitary force formerly operated by the government of Sudan. The RSF grew out of, and is primarily composed of, the Janjaweed militias which previously fought on behalf of the Sudanese government. RSF ...

. The fire was severe, and the building was gutted and nearly destroyed, leading to questions if it would be rebuilt or demolished.

Stakeholders

GNPOC is a joint operating company owned by: *

China National Petroleum Corporation The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) () is a major national oil and gas corporation of China and one of the largest integrated energy groups in the world. Its headquarters are in Dongcheng District, Beijing, Dongcheng District, Beij ...

: 40% * Petronas Carigali Overseas of Malaysia: 30% * ONGC Videsh (the overseas arm of ONGC) of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

: 25% *

Sudapet The Sudan National Petroleum Corporation, also known as Sudapet, is a state-owned oil company based in Sudan. It was founded in 1997 and is 100% owned by the Ministry for Energy and Mining (later the Ministry of Petroleum and Gas). As a NOC, Su ...

(Sudan National Petroleum Corporation, the national oil company of Sudan): 5% Both Gulf Petroleum and Al Thani Corporation formerly owned a 5% share each. Canadian company

Talisman Energy Talisman Energy Inc. was a Canadian independent petroleum company that existed between 1993 and 2015. The company was created from the assets of BP Canada after British Petroleum divested its 57 percent stake in June 1992. It was one of Canada' ...

(previously known as Arakis) was an original stakeholder. Its share was sold to ONGC Videsh in 2003. The U.S. government imposed economic sanctions against Sudan in 1997, due to the Sudanese government's alleged sponsorship of international terrorism and poor human rights record. The sanctions prohibited trade between the United States and Sudan, as well as investment by U.S. businesses in Sudan. In February 2000, the U.S. government extended its sanctions to include Sudapet and GNPOC. These sanctions were lifted after the

Sudanese revolution The Sudanese revolution () was a major shift of political power in Sudan that started with street protests throughout Sudan on 19 December 2018 and continued with sustained civil disobedience for about eight months, during which the 2019 S ...

of 2018/19 and ensuing negotiations between the two governments at the end of 2020.

References

External links

GNPOC company website
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061214195825/http://www.gnpoc.com/ , date=2006-12-14 Oil and gas companies of Sudan Companies based in Khartoum Energy companies established in 1997 Non-renewable resource companies established in 1997 Sudanese companies established in 1997 1997 establishments in Sudan Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Buildings and structures in Khartoum Office buildings completed in 2010 2023 fire 2023 disasters in Sudan 2023 fires in Africa September 2023 in Sudan Building and structure fires in Africa High-rise fires Commercial building fires Sudanese civil war (2023–present) Commercial buildings in Sudan Arson in Sudan History of the Nile

Headquarters

Stakeholders

See also

References

External links