Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir told al-Arabiya TV earlier this week that the United States was welcome to explore for Darfur's mineral wealth, which in addition to oil includes copper and uranium, he said.

"We have no problem with them (the United States) coming and sharing it (Darfur's resources) with us, but they want to take it all," said the Sudanese president, according to the Sudan Tribune.

Bashir's invitation appeared more like a political stunt aimed at enticing Washington to end 11 years of sanctions imposed on the country while tribal and ethnic genocide continues at the hands of Sudanese military and state-backed militias.

Other countries, like China, however, appear eager to explore Darfur's potential as part of the growing international race to capitalize on much of Africa's untapped oil potential.

Sudan already is producing about 500,000 barrels of oil per day, two-thirds of which is bound for China, whose oil needs have grown exponentially in the last decade.

For the last decade or so, Chinese firms have scoured the globe for more oil to meet their ever-growing energy needs. In the last 15 years, China went from oil self-sufficiency to importing about 3 million barrels per day. According to estimates, by the year 2020 China will have 140 million vehicles on the road, surpassing the car count in the United States.

With economic growth sailing at 10 percent annually, the country is scouring the globe to find new nations with whom to do petro-business -- even if that means making deals with leaders like Bashir, who presided over 20 years of civil war that left millions dead and homeless.

Hoping to perhaps bolster the strength of Sudan's relationship with China, Khartoum earlier this month launched an offensive deep into Darfur's rebel-held territory to make room for Chinese oil exploration. At least 16 civilians were killed in the maneuvers, according to the International Crisis Group, a human rights watchdog organization.

While rights groups and certain U.S. lawmakers condemn China's moral flexibility when it comes to oil exploration in Sudan and other African nations, other contend the United States should team up with China in African oil exploration.

"The energy sectors in China and the U.S., and the energy interests of the two countries, are becoming increasingly interdependent," read a report by the East-West Institute. "The traditional view of large powers competing strategically for scarce resources in Africa is outdated and damaging."

Meanwhile, Sudan's growing oil industry is attracting other types of international attention, particularly from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Some OPEC leaders would like to see Sudan become a full-fledged member of the oil cartel.

Sudan was given observer status in OPEC after it began production in 1999 and now appears ready to become a voting member of the group.

Some analysts, however, warn against Sudan joining OPEC as it could prove detrimental to the country's efforts to rebuild after nearly two decades of civil war between the country's Muslim north and Christian south. Future cuts in OPEC production certainly will annoy countries like the United States, which would end up footing the majority of the expense of rebuilding the war-ravaged nation.

"Sudan has no business approaching the world with a tin cup in one hand and a pistol in the other," said David Goldwyn, president of consulting firm Goldwyn International Strategies.

(e-mail: [email protected])

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