Sudan's economy has been transformed since the early 1990s by Asian investment, particularly in the oil sector. This chapter argues that the Sudanese economy in the twenty-first century is largely driven by oil – and the oil sector is dominated almost entirely by investment from Asian countries. Historically, Sudan depended on agriculture for most of its economic growth and export earnings. But the discovery of oil, and the simultaneous expansion of internal political tensions that left traditional Western partners largely unable to participate in its exploitation, offered a number of Asian state oil companies their first major opportunity to invest heavily in Africa. The result was a very rapid transformation in some parts of Sudan's economy. However, this left other parts, particularly subsistence agriculture in more remote regions, struggling to adjust.

The current level of Sudan's dependence on oil is highlighted by the fact that, in 2009, the commodity accounted for over 90% of the country's export earnings and almost 50% of central government revenue. In that year, average daily production was 475,000 barrels per day (bpd), which came from four producing concessions, all majority-owned and managed by investors from China, Malaysia and India. Asian interest in the Sudanese oil sector also extends beyond current production. Of the most hopeful exploration areas, with the exception of Block B in Southern Sudan, a concession owned by France's Total, most are again allocated to CNPC and Petronas.