NAIROBI, Sept 17 (Askume) – South Sudan and Sudan have made progress in resuming the flow of South Sudanese crude oil through pipelines to the neighbouring country’s ports, the offices of South Sudan’s finance minister and president revealed.
Why is this important?
Exports are an important source of revenue for South Sudan, which receives a portion of its oil as a transit fee.
The main pipeline exporting oil from South Sudan through Sudan was blocked in February due to damage caused by fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces .
Analysts say the damage is causing severe environmental pollution, supply disruptions that are driving up food prices across Sudan and leaving millions of people facing extreme hunger .
Key Quotes
“Sudanese engineers have made the necessary technical preparations to resume oil production,” South Sudan President Salva Kiir said in a statement after meeting with Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in Juba on Monday.
“South Sudanese engineers are expected to visit Sudan in the coming weeks to familiarise themselves with the readiness of the facilities so that production can be resumed quickly.”
“It was very successful and news about it will be announced soon,” South Sudan’s Finance Minister Marial Donglin Ater said at a press conference on Monday night.
Burhan’s office said the two sides would develop an action plan to restore oil flows.
situation
South Sudan’s economy has been under pressure in recent years due to communal violence, declining crude oil export revenues since the 2013-2018 civil war and export disruptions caused by the war in neighbouring Sudan.
By number
Under a plan drawn up after independence from Khartoum in 2011, South Sudan exports about 150,000 barrels of crude oil a day through Sudan, siphoning off most of its oil production.
At its peak before the civil war, South Sudan’s crude oil production was 350,000 to 400,000 barrels per day.
