According to the president’s office and South Sudan’s finance minister, the two countries have made headway on resuming the pumping of South Sudan’s crude oil through a pipeline that goes to a port in its neighbor.
WHY IT’S ESSENTIAL
South Sudan depends heavily on its oil exports for its income, and Sudan keeps a portion of the oil as a transit fee.
According to Sudanese officials in March, issues related to a conflict between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces had caused stoppages in the major pipeline that transports oil from South Sudan to Sudan for export since a month earlier.
Salva Kiir, the president of South Sudan, met with Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sudan’s army, late on Monday. “Sudanese engineers have accomplished the necessary technical preparations for the resumption of oil production,” Kiir’s administration said in a statement.
“Engineers from South Sudan are expected to visit Sudan in the coming weeks to familiarise themselves with the readiness of the facilities so as to jump-start production.”
At a press conference late on Monday, South Sudan’s Finance Minister Marial Dongrin Ater stated, “There has been a breakthrough, and it will come to public very soon.”
In addition to community violence, South Sudan’s economy has been struggling recently due to a decline in revenue from crude oil exports following the 2013–2018 civil war and, more recently, export disruptions due to war in neighbouring Sudan.
BY THE NUMBERS
South Sudan had been sending about 150,000 barrels per day of crude through Sudan for export, under a formula established when South Sudan gained independence from Khartoum in 2011, taking most oil production with it.
Before the civil war, South Sudan produced between 350,000 and 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day at its highest point.
(Reuters)
