The New Kings of Crude

For over a decade, Sudan fuelled the international rise of Chinese and Indian national oil companies. But the political turmoil surrounding the historic division of Africa’s largest country, through the birth of South Sudan, challenged Asia’s oil giants to chart a new course.

In his upcoming book, The New Kings of Crude, Luke Patey weaves together the stories of hardened oilmen, powerful politicians, rebel fighters and human rights activists to show how the lure of oil brought China and India into Sudan - only later to ensnare both in the messy politics of a divided country. Patey takes the reader from the dusty streets of an African capital to Asia’s glistening corporate towers and looks at how Chinese and Indian oilmen and politicians in pursuit of the world's most coveted resource, amid one of Africa’s longest-running and deadliest civil wars.

The New Kings of Crude offers a portrait of the challenges China and India are increasingly facing as emerging powers in the world.