Sudan is believed to have large untapped oil reserves, mainly in the south part of the country. Sanctions imposed in 1997 as a result of the civil conflict stopped US oil companies from investing in exploration. Naturally other countries not bound by those sanctions (China in particular) have stepped in to take advantage of the opportunity, which pisses off our oil barons.
Here's a page I found that includes a good explanation of this and why Bush** won't push the regime in Khartoum too hard:
Sudan: Western Oil Greed Trumps ‘Genocide’ Concerns - Worldpress.org
snip..."Since 2001, the Bush administration’s priority in Sudan has been to end the more than two-decade-long war between the southern-based Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (S.P.L.M.) and the Arab-chauvinist rulers in Khartoum. The resulting “stability” in Sudan would allow Washington to lift existing sanctions and permit U.S. oil corporations to return to southern Sudan.
Khartoum unleashed the Arab-chauvinist gangs — backed by Sudan air force bombers and helicopter gunships — when Darfur’s majority non-Arabic-speaking farming tribes rebelled against Khartoum’s neglect of the region in February 2003. Washington and the E.U. had all but ignored the atrocities taking place there until Khartoum’s brutal treatment of the Darfuris threatened to derail the north-south peace deal and prevent the opening of Sudan’s lucrative oilfields to greater Western exploitation. Only then did Western governments begin to apply real pressure on the Sudanese regime to rein in the janjaweed.
Knowing that Sudan’s regime is keen to normalize relations with the U.S., Washington’s goal has been to lure Khartoum’s rulers back into the fold using the “carrot” of promises to lift existing U.S. sanctions (imposed in 1997) — which have left Sudan’s potentially huge oil industry starved of massive U.S. investment — and the “stick” of the threat of further sanctions.
Washington is also keen to lift its economic sanctions. Since 1997, U.S. oil companies have been excluded from profiting from the expansion of Sudan’s oil exploration, and its production since 1999, while Chinese, Malaysian, Indian and European companies have taken the lion’s share.
Despite playing the role of “tough cop” at the U.N., U.S. officials have worked closely with the other Security Council members, and the A.U., to craft a settlement that will be bearable for Khartoum, while being sufficient to defuse the Darfur crisis enough to allow the final phase of the north-south peace deal to be completed. Of course, Sudan’s reactionary rulers have continually probed to test the limits of the West’s tolerance, requiring Washington to periodically escalate its rhetoric."
more....
http://www.worldpress.org/Africa/2025.cfm
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