KHARTOUM - Sudan has offered more oil blocks to Russia’s Zarubezhneft oil company, at the end of a three-day visit of a high-level government delegation to Moscow.

The two countries also agreed to enhance cooperation and expand trade in several other sectors.

On Wednesday, Sudanese-Russian technical talks began in Moscow, in preparation for meetings of the Russian-Sudanese intergovernmental commission on Friday. The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Minerals, Mohamed Saeed Zeinelabdeen affirmed Sudan's readiness to enter into new partnerships with Russia, the Sudan News Agency (SUNA) reported on Thursday.

El Tahir Mohamed Abulhasan, Director of the Oil Exploration and Production Administration at the Sudanese Ministry of Oil, said at plenary session of the Russian-Sudanese intergovernmental commission on Thursday that they discussed Zarubezhneft's proposal for investments in Sudan.

“We previously provided several blocks for development, and now we have added more, in regions with gas and oil potential. I think by October we will pass on the necessary information so that they can start looking at these areas," he stated. At the end of the joint meetings on Friday, he confirmed the deal.

The Interfax Information Services Group on Thursday cited Dmitry Semyonov, head of the Russian Energy Ministry's International Cooperation Department, who said that “the number of oil blocks for development by our Zarubezhneft company, together with Sudan's Energy and Oil Ministry and state company Sudapec, was increased.

“We also agreed with companies to discuss expanding cooperation in the oil sector beyond just production, to look at oil recovery technologies, associated gas utilisation, oil refining, petrochemicals and training,” he said.