Having avoided Sudan for almost a decade...any western oil companies wishing to reengage in the region...will have several thorny problems to tackle...First, firms will have to navigate the tense and complex muddle of two states still sharing one industry without a clear framework for cooperation. Second...are the broader challenges of working in a chronically poor country, lacking in infrastructure and institutions, with a volatile political situation and a severe dependence on the oil industry. Third, should violence flare up again, companies will likely find their facilities targeted, as they have been in the past...But there are important steps that firms should take to avoid exacerbating the countries’ (and their own) problems. First, they must address two particular grievances surrounding the oil industry in Sudan at present – reports of severe environmental damage...and accusations of human rights abuses...Second, companies...should do all they legitimately can to help the countries address the poverty and underdevelopment that could threaten their stability...[refers to Total, BP, Lundin, Chevron, China National Petroleum Corporation, Sudapet]