Khartoum Refinery Company

Khartoum Refinery Company was established in Sudan in 1997 as a 50–50 joint venture between the Sudanese government's Ministry of Energy and Mining and China National Petroleum Corporation. The partnership brought together the Sudanese state, which required domestic refining capacity and petroleum infrastructure, and CNPC, a major Chinese state-owned energy company. KRC began operations in 2000. The company's central asset is the Al-Jaili oil refinery, situated about 70 kilometers north of Khartoum. The refinery was developed as an important component of Sudan's petroleum system, processing crude oil into refined products for use within the country. Its reported capacity is 100,000 barrels per day. KRC's activities are therefore closely linked to national fuel availability, even though the company is also connected to export infrastructure. Surplus petroleum is transported toward Bashair Port on Sudan's Red Sea coast through a pipeline approximately 1,610 kilometers long. The supplied reference identifies this as the longest pipeline in Africa. The pipeline provides a logistical connection between Sudan's inland petroleum facilities and its seaborne export point, making KRC part of a wider network rather than an isolated refinery operation. The company's operating history was disrupted by the Sudanese civil war that began in 2023. The refinery has been described as non-operational since July 2023 and was attacked several times during the conflict. Damage, insecurity, and contested control of the site made ordinary refining activity impossible or highly uncertain. In January 2025, the Sudanese Armed Forces launched an operation that resulted in the capture of the refinery from the Rapid Support Forces. The facility was engulfed by fire during the fighting. The Sudanese Armed Forces blamed the Rapid Support Forces for setting the refinery ablaze, while the Rapid Support Forces stated that the Sudanese Air Force caused the fire by using incendiary barrel bombs in the area. The supplied sources do not provide an independently verified determination of responsibility or a complete technical assessment of the refinery's condition. KRC's post-conflict status is consequently unresolved. The available material confirms the company's historical ownership, location, refining role, and wartime disruption, but does not document whether the refinery has been repaired, restarted, transferred, or permanently retired. It is therefore more accurate to describe Khartoum Refinery Company as a strategically important but operationally uncertain Sudanese petroleum joint venture.

• 2025

  Facility recaptured and damaged by fire

  [1]Khartoum Refinery Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The Sudanese Armed Forces retook the refinery from the Rapid Support Forces on 24 January. A fire engulfed the facility, with the parties disputing responsibility.

• 2023

  Refinery operations halted during civil war

  [1]Khartoum Refinery Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The refinery has reportedly been non-operational since July 2023 after the outbreak of Sudan's civil war and attacks affecting the facility.

• 2000

  Operations begin

  [1]Khartoum Refinery Companyen.wikipedia.org

  KRC began operating the Al-Jaili oil refinery north of Khartoum.

• 1997

  Company established

  [1]Khartoum Refinery Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Khartoum Refinery Company was founded as a 50–50 joint venture between Sudan's Ministry of Energy and Mining and China National Petroleum Corporation.

A strategic Sudanese refining and petroleum-infrastructure joint venture serving domestic fuel needs and supporting export logistics.

• Oil refining · 2000

  Al-Jaili oil refinery

  KRC's principal operating asset is the Al-Jaili refinery, located approximately 70 kilometers north of Khartoum. It was designed to process crude oil into refined petroleum products for Sudan and is reported to have a capacity of 100,000 barrels per day. Its operating condition after wartime attacks is not established in the supplied material.

1. 1Khartoum Refinery Companyen.wikipedia.org