South Sudan is prepared to resume the process of oil circulation through Sudan

The finance minister of South Sudan and the president’s office have said that South Sudan and Sudan have made advancements in resuming the discharge of South Sudan’s crude oil via a pipeline that connects to a port in their neighboring country.

The Significance

Exports are a vital source of income for South Sudan, and Sudan collects a portion of the oil sale as a transit charge.

The primary oil pipeline transporting oil from South Sudan to Sudan for export was interrupted in February due to damage caused by a conflict between Sudan’s military and the Rapid Support Forces rebels.

Analyzers assert that the damage is causing significant environmental pollution and that the halt has resulted in increased food costs in Sudan, where millions are experiencing severe hunger.

Selected Quotations

“Sudanese engineers have successfully completed the required technical arrangements for the recommencement of oil production,” stated the office of South Sudan President Salva Kiir in a statement issued late on Monday following a meeting in Juba between Kiir and Sudan’s army commander, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

“In the next weeks, engineers from South Sudan are anticipated to travel to Sudan in order to acquaint themselves with the preparedness of the facilities, with the aim of initiating production.”

“A significant advancement has been made, and official announcement of this development will be made public shortly,” stated Marial Dongrin Ater, the Finance Minister of South Sudan, during a news conference held late on Monday.

The Burhan administration announced that both parties will formulate an operational strategy to resume the flow of oil.

Background

South Sudan’s economy has under significant strain in recent years due to communal violence, declining crude oil export earnings from a civil war that occurred between 2013 and 2018, and more recently, difficulties in exports caused by the conflict in neighboring Sudan.

Arranged in numerical order

When South Sudan attained independence from Khartoum in 2011, it began exporting around 150,000 barrels of crude oil per day through Sudan, following a formula that allowed it to take the majority of oil production with it.

Preceding the civil war, South Sudan’s crude oil output reached its highest point, ranging from 350,000 to 400,000 barrels per day.