Sudan will soon take a decision on whether to join the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), a Sudanese official said here on Sunday.

"Sudan is now qualified to join OPEC according to conditions set by the organization for membership," Undersecretary in the Ministry of Energy and Mining Omer Mohammed Khair told reporters.

Commenting on Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo's recent call for Sudan to join OPEC, the official said that making a decision on this issue demanded careful studies over both the positive and negative aspects if Sudan entered the oil cartel.

He also said that more and more foreign enterprises had been attracted to invest in Sudan's oil production field, adding that Sudan welcomed investors from all over the word provided that they respected laws and sovereignty of Sudan.

Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir received last Wednesday a written message from the Nigerian president inviting Sudan to join OPEC. Nigeria is the current chairman of OPEC.

El-Bashir promised to study the invitation and respond to it in the near future.

In an interview with the Qatari al-Jazeera satellite television on Saturday, Sudanese Minster of Energy and Mining Awad Ahmed al- Jaz said that petroleum existed in all parts of Sudan.

"The petroleum production is one of the important factors that matter in realization of peace in Sudan," he added.

The minister reiterated that the doors of the country were opened to all investors regardless of their nationalities, adding that the only condition for investment was the respect for Sudan's sovereignty and nonintervention in its internal affairs.

About the U.S. companies, the minister said that Sudan did not reject them to invest in Sudan's oil industry, but added that their operations in Sudan were affected by Washington's sanctions against Sudan.

"Sudan has proved to the world that it is capable of solving its problems and benefiting from its natural resources," al-Jaz said, citing success by many foreign oil companies operating in Sudan.

Source: Xinhua