Sudan signed a memorandum with a Saudi company to rehabilitate the Khartoum refinery and construct a new coastal plant, Sudan Tribune reported, without naming the partner or detailing financial terms.

The agreement bundles two discrete downstream projects on different sides of Sudan's geography. The first is a brownfield revamp of the inland Khartoum refinery, which has historically served as the anchor of the country's domestic fuel supply chain. The second is a greenfield coastal facility on the Red Sea, a configuration that would give Sudan its first refining presence on its main maritime corridor and open seaborne crude sourcing alongside export-grade product routing.

Sudan Tribune's initial dispatch did not include a nameplate capacity, project cost, EPC timeline, or commissioning window. The Saudi counterparty was not identified. No technology licensor, financing structure, or feedstock arrangement appeared in the reporting.

What does the pact commit to?

The memorandum frames two engineering scopes that the Sudanese government has been pursuing on parallel tracks. The Khartoum work targets rehabilitation of existing process units and is positioned to restore and stabilize domestic throughput. The coastal plant is described as a new build on the Red Sea, with no published capacity, configuration, or product slate.

The brownfield-greenfield pairing reflects two distinct policy objectives. Domestic demand recovery drives the Khartoum side, where periodic fuel shortages and import dependency have shaped Sudan's downstream agenda for years. The coastal unit points toward export markets, regional bunkering trade, and the option to process third-party crudes shipped through the Red Sea.

What stays on the disclosure list?

Until Sudanese authorities or the Saudi partner publish supporting documentation, the trade will watch for five items: the Saudi counterparty's identity and equity share; the coastal plant's nameplate capacity and process configuration; the crude supply arrangement and any linkage to Gulf producers or traders; the funding structure and any sovereign-guarantee backing; and the EPC award timeline.

For the Khartoum side, the outstanding items are turnaround timing, throughput targets versus historic nameplate, the process-unit scope covering crude distillation and secondary conversion, and the technology licensor.

Why the coastal location matters

Sudan's downstream footprint has centred on Khartoum and a smaller asset at Port Sudan, both of which have operated below nameplate in recent years as the country managed foreign-exchange constraints and feedstock availability. A new coastal facility would mark Sudan's first major grassroots refining addition in decades and would reshape the logistics map, allowing crude imports by ship rather than overland from interior production, and finished-product exports without the constraints of an inland terminal.

The Red Sea site also positions the new unit to draw on regional crude streams, blend Sudanese and third-party barrels, and serve Mediterranean and Indian Ocean tanker routes directly.

Watch items

• Identification of the Saudi partner and equity structure
• Nameplate capacity of the Khartoum revamp and the coastal plant
• Process configuration: refining, petrochemicals, or integrated
• Crude feedstock arrangement and any Gulf supply linkage
• Financing structure and sovereign-guarantee posture
• EPC tender and award timing