The burning fires and destruction that befell the largest oil refinery in the Sudanese capital bear witness to the huge losses caused by the raging war between the Sudanese army and the Sudanese forces. Fast support About 9 months ago, with no signs of stopping in the foreseeable future.

Rapid support control

The Rapid Support Forces took control of the Khartoum oil refinery days after the war began in mid-April, which enabled them to secure a large supply for their convoys of vehicles that were waging fierce fighting in Khartoum and other states.

The refinery is located in the Al-Jili area, 70 kilometers north of the capital. It was established in 1997 and began its operations in 2000. It is shared equally between the Sudanese government, represented by the Ministry of Energy, and the Chinese National Petroleum Corporation. It is considered one of the largest refineries in the country. Sudan It is linked to an export pipeline to the port of Bashayer on the Red Sea coast in eastern Sudan, with a length of 1,610 kilometers.

It is also linked to oil wells in the states of West and South Kordofan, but the Rapid Support Forces’ control over a number of fields in these states, including the Balila field in the state of West Kordofan, contributed significantly to reducing the supply of crude to the refinery, and the decline in its refining capacity.

A huge explosion and fire in one of the gas warehouses at the Al-Jili refinery in Khartoum North, north of the Sudanese capital#Sudan_historical_army pic.twitter.com/JbIDdmPrkD

– Ahmed Al Qurashi Idris (@ahmadhgurashi) January 21, 2024

The facility, which is still partially operational, has been subjected to repeated bombing and attacks, with both fighting sides exchanging accusations of responsibility for targeting it since last November 7, when the Rapid Support Forces said that army aviation had bombed and destroyed major warehouses there, so an army spokesman responded by holding the other party responsible and causing A fire broke out inside the corporate section, exposing the refinery and its inhabitants to destruction.

Consecutive fires

Events later continued inside the refinery with repeated fires, the last of which was last Sunday, when strong explosions shook the place and its surrounding areas, and flames were seen rising from huge warehouses. The Rapid Support Forces said that it was the result of bombing by marches, weeks after the army announced the Rapid Support’s involvement in destroying the refinery. Refinery control rooms.

Economists warn that the destruction of the Khartoum refinery will have major impacts on the oil sector in Sudan, in addition to the difficulty of compensating for its financial losses, as its cost amounts to billions of dollars, and it will take years to rebuild it.

Under normal conditions, the refinery produces about 10,000 tons of gasoline, 4,500 tons of gasoline, and 800,000 tons of cooking gas, and it was operating at less than its maximum capacity of 100,000 barrels per day.

Al-Jili refinery works on two types of crude, namely the Nile blend produced by the Heglig fields in South Kordofan and Al-Fula states, and Dar Al-Thaqil crude, according to the former Minister of Energy and Mining, Adel Ali Ibrahim, who confirms that the refinery works on all of Sudan’s share of the crude, while its production covers Half of the country's gasoline needs, 40% of its diesel needs, and half of its cooking gas needs.

Our source inside the Al-Jili refinery informed us that, thank God, the fire caused by the rebel forces in the raw fuel tanks was recently brought under control. Some who did not bother to focus on what we were writing before issuing judgments said: (The support is controlling the refinery. How can they burn it?) We said, artillery bombardment. Army positions, one of which hit tanks. pic.twitter.com/8IZ5zsL7cq

– Ahmed Al-Bilal Al-Tayeb (@ahmed_albalal) January 22, 2024

Challenges

Despite the explosions and fires, Ibrahim told Al Jazeera Net that the situation is under control, and extinguishing attempts are still continuing, and the damage and losses have not been counted and evaluated yet.

The door to importing petroleum derivatives has not been closed, despite developments in the security situation, as many companies specialized in importing have moved to… Port SudanThis reduces the negative impact of the Khartoum refinery fires by covering the need with imports.

However, the former Sudanese Oil Minister says that the challenge will be in transporting oil derivatives from Port Sudan to other states, expecting prices to rise if the local refinery stops for a long time.

Oil expert Hussein Mahmoud shares the same concerns. He told Al Jazeera Net that stopping the entire refinery means relying entirely on imports, which means straining the state treasury to obtain foreign exchange.

Mahmoud talks about the damage that occurred at the refinery, which would severely affect hundreds of its workers and cause them to lose their jobs, in addition to the huge losses that befell the storage warehouses of companies and the government.

On the other hand, the expert points out that what happened to the oil facility will pose a serious challenge to the work of the Al-Jazeera project and other agricultural projects in terms of providing fuel for the harvest, especially since the current time coincides with the corn and cotton harvest season, and even if the harvest is completed, the process of transporting the crops will face major obstacles. Under the control of the Rapid Support Forces over the land roads linking the states of Gezira, Kordofan, and White Nile.

In turn, the economic analyst, Abdel Azim Al-Muhall, points out in his interview with Al Jazeera Net that the fire that affected the oil facility led to its partial failure, and the cost of its construction exceeded 500 million dollars, and it was fortified with self-protection systems to extinguish the fire, making it difficult for the fire to reach a body. Primary filter.

However, the problem that prevents the refinery from operating – he added, is the inability of specialized engineers to access and repair it, which negatively affects the fuel supply, which in turn will affect the winter agricultural season, the remaining factories, vehicle movement, and others.