Iraq measure contains Sudan oil clause

WASHINGTON, May 11 (UPI) -- A U.S. congressional move to fund the Iraq war contains a provision that would mandate a list of companies operating in natural-resource extraction in Sudan.

The measure -- The U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act of 2007 (House Resolution 2206) -- was approved Thursday by the U.S. House of Representatives 221 to 205.

The provision mandates that the secretary of the treasury, in coordination with the Securities and Exchange Commission and in consultation with the departments of State and Energy, prepare a written report "containing the names of companies which either directly or through a parent or subsidiary company, including partly owned subsidiaries, are known to conduct significant business operations in Sudan relating to natural resource extraction, including oil-related activities and mining of minerals."

The report may contain a classified annex, the provision says.

Companies operating under licenses from the Office of Foreign Assets Control or those exempt under U.S. law from having to obtain such licenses to operate in Sudan are exempt.

Sudan is a major African energy producer but is the target of international scrutiny because of the violence in Darfur, which pits the local population against the Sudanese government and its Arab militia. The United States has called the violence genocidal.

The Oil and Gas Journal says that as of January 2007, Sudan had proven oil reserves of 5 billion barrels. But because the country's energy sector is still undeveloped, Asian nations such as China, India and Malaysia are key investors.

Last year China, a permanent, veto-wielding member of the United Nations, imported 99,000 bbl/d of Sudanese crude.

The measure is likely a way to pressure the Sudanese government to end the violence in Darfur. Separately, human-rights groups have demanded foreign companies pull their investments out of Sudan in a bid to pressure the government.

The measure still needs the Senate's approval before it heads to the White House.