Sudan's Khartoum refinery 'destroyed' after latest army airstrikes: RSF militia

Sudan's Khartoum refinery has been "completely destroyed" after the Sudanese army bombed the idled plant late May 21, Sudan's Rapid Support Forces militia said May 22.

Seized by the Rapid Support Forces in April 2023, the 100,000 b/d Khartoum refinery fully halted processing at the end of July 2023. Since the beginning of the conflict between forces loyal to warring generals in the East African country, the refinery was being used by the militia to supply its troops with fuel.

"The destruction of the refinery is a blatant act of terrorism that violates international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions," RSF said in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter. "It reveals the deep frustration and despair of the terrorist militias operating under the banner of the Sudan Armed Forces."

Local reports showed images of flames engulfing the refinery's destroyed storage tanks following the latest attack on the plant.

Over the last year, both the Sudanese army and the RSF have accused each other of damaging the Khartoum refinery. On Dec. 6, the refinery suffered damage in an attack that reportedly ignited the main control room and caused extensive losses.

Oil exports

On May 19, the RSF said that recent bombings had caused damage to the crude oil transmission lines and resulted in the burning and vandalism of several facilities within the refinery.

In an interview with S&P Global Commodity Insights in March, Sudan's energy minister Mohi Eddeen Naeem said the country had suffered reduced oil output, destruction of stocks at the main Khartoum refinery and damage to key installations and infrastructure. As a result, the country will need a major revamp to return to pre-war operations.

S&P Global reported at the end of February that force majeure had been declared on loadings of South Sudan's key Dar Blend crude, popular among refiners in the Gulf and Southeast Asia, due to a pipeline rupture in Sudan. It was not clear if the Sudan conflict was to blame.

Sudan's ongoing civil war has also halted production at the Balila oil field in West Kordofan state.