Sudan is facing up to the impact of a worsening energy crisis, with oil fields being forced to shut down and refineries ceasing operations amid a hugely damaging armed conflict which has persisted for nearly three years.
In December, the fighting led to a complete shutdown of production and the evacuation of all staff in the Heglig oil field, Sudan's largest oil site. It came as almost all oil fields in major oil-producing regions of central and western Sudan have been forced to halt operations due to the extent of the civil war, which erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April 2023.
Data from Sudan's finance ministry shows that the country's oil revenue has fallen by more than 50 percent compared to pre-conflict levels.
"The conflict and its damage have severely impacted Sudan's oil industry. Various oil infrastructure facilities, including refineries and pipelines, have been damaged, and even oil storage facilities in Port Sudan was attacked by drones," said Mohamed Alnair, an economist.
The Khartoum refinery, located near the capital Khartoum, is Sudan's largest refinery, with its diesel, gasoline, and liquefied petroleum gas production once supplying about 70 percent of the country's needs. However, the refinery was severely damaged in the fighting and remains completely shut down.
Amid the prolonged war, dwindling state revenues, and damaged infrastructure, insiders say that the increasing reliance on oil imports following the conflict has further weakened Sudan.
"[There is] no way for refining our production in Sudan, so we are 100 percent dependent on imports. And now the imported products -- diesel, benzene, gas -- have been affected by these attacks on the depots. We face a shortage of refined products, which really impacts the people in Sudan," said Ayman Al-Goukh, an oil industry expert.
The impact of the war -- which has now raged for more than 1,000 days -- is being felt more widely. Since 2024, gasoline and diesel shortages have gradually spread from the conflict-ridden central and western regions to relatively safer areas like the Red Sea State in the east.
Many gas stations have closed, and those still operating frequently experience supply disruptions, leaving residents waiting in long lines. The fuel shortage has also triggered power outages. Currently, most parts of Sudan experience lengthy power cuts each day, severely disrupting daily life.
Though the eastern coastal city of Port Sudan is located far from the main conflict zone, its residents have also felt the pinch of the energy crisis, as transportation and living costs have been on the rise, while many say they are going without electricity for multiple hours every day.
"The power, electricity is out for six to eight hours each day. The heat here, the temperature is normally 30 (degrees Celsius) and in the summer it comes to 50 (degrees Celsius). We hope peace comes to Sudan as soon as possible and life returns to normal," said Amin, a local resident.
Sudan faces deepening energy crisis as oilfields shutdown amid continuing conflict
Sudan faces deepening energy crisis as oilfields shutdown amid continuing conflict
Sudan faces deepening energy crisis as oilfields shutdown amid continuing conflict
The return capsule of the debris-hit Shenzhou-20 spaceship landed safely back on Earth on Monday, with ground search teams overcoming the unique challenges of locating and retrieving the unmanned craft as China's first emergency space mission came to a successful conclusion.
The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) confirmed the capsule touched down safely at the Dongfeng Landing Site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 09:34 local time on Monday morning, bringing an end to the extraordinary mission.
Launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center last April, Shenzhou-20's return was postponed in early November due to concerns over damage caused by a suspected space debris impact, after the CMSA said tiny cracks were found in the Shenzhou-20 return capsule's viewport window.
An alternative spacecraft was later used to transport the three Chinese astronauts of the Shenzhou-20 mission safely back to Earth.
Monday's return began shortly after midnight Beijing time, when the spaceship undocked from the Tiangong space station and began its descent.
Despite sustaining damage, the capsule withstood temperatures of thousands of degrees Celsius during the re-entry process and successfully returned to Earth after in-orbit reinforcement and sealing work carried out by the Shenzhou-21 astronauts, who arrived to take over duties from the Shenzhou-20 crew in November.
Xu Peng, the on-site commander at the Dongfeng Landing Site, said that this particular unmanned landing represented a whole new set of challenges to the search and recovery teams on the ground.
He said the ground search forces made targeted adjustments in order to better cope with the extreme weather conditions in the area, with frigid temperatures and strong winds posing further difficulties to retrieving the return capsule.
"This marks the first time the Dongfeng Landing Site has carried out a spaceship recovery mission during the coldest season of the year, with cold weather posing a test for both our search and rescue teams and equipment. We made special cold-protection preparations in advance to ensure that both personnel and the equipment remained in good condition throughout the mission," Xu said.
Xu also noted another unique factor of this unmanned return which put extra pressure on the ground teams to respond quickly to its touchdown.
"As the Shenzhou-20 return capsule was unmanned, there was no astronaut to manually separate the parachute. As a result, the main parachute did not automatically detach upon landing, and in strong winds, it could have dragged the return capsule along the ground. This requires our ground personnel to reach the landing point and cut the parachute as quickly as possible. ," Xu said.
Ground teams were keen to secure the spacecraft as quickly as possible so that a comprehensive assessment can be made on the damage it sustained in space which necessitated the emergency response operation.
On-site personnel promptly took steps to protect the damaged porthole on the return capsule upon its landing, which will provide essential data for the optimization of key spaceship components in the future.
Additionally, Xu said the ground teams deployed new methods, such as drones and other high-tech equipment, to assist in this unprecedented recovery operation.
"Adjustments were made to our recovery forces. The helicopter unit did not participate in this mission, and the drone and unmanned ground vehicle units made their debut. This new model, combining unmanned search equipment with ground personnel, was applied in the recovery of the uncrewed capsule," he said.
Though without any crew members, the return capsule was instead carrying several space application system items from the space station, including a well-used spacesuit which had far exceeded its service life while supporting some 20 extravehicular activities during space missions.
Monday's mission came after the three Shenzhou-20 crew members jointly met with the press in Beijing on Friday after completing their standard isolation period following their delayed return in November, with experienced mission commander Chen Dong hailing the calm and methodical response to the debris incident and the coordination with teams on the ground which ensured the trio got home safely.
Ground teams overcome challenges as unmanned Shenzhou-20 return capsule touches down
