South Sudan's Minister of Petroleum, Puot Kang Chol addressing the press conference in Juba's capital of South Sudan on Tuesday,
JUBA - South Sudan will resume oil production in Blocks 3 and 7 on 8 January through a pipeline running to a port in its neighbour, with an initial output of 90,000 barrels per day following a force majeure on oil exports lifted after 10 months, the Petroleum Minister says.
Oil production and export were halted following the pipeline was damaged in February clashes between Sudan's army and the paramilitary rapid support force, intensely deteriorating East Africa's national economy, which accounts for more than 90% of revenue.
But in a letter dated 6 January from Sudan's petroleum ministry to DAR Petroleum Operating Company Ltd (DPOC) said the Force Majeure declared by the Government of Sudan on 15 February 2024 has been lifted, indicating that oil production in Blocks 3 and 7 and exports will resume on Wednesday 8 January.
The landlocked country's oil had been shipped to global markets from Port Sudan on the Red Sea, with Khartoum taking a cut of the oil as a transit fee.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chol said oil production and export at Blocks 3 and 7 will officially resume on Wednesday.
The Minister says the resumption of oil production will stabilize and revitalize the world's youngest nation economy.
Chol said the Dar Petroleum Operating Company (DPOC) will resume operations in Blocks 3 & 7, effective January 8, 2025.
He said they are restarting operations with the full support of their international partners, CNPC, SINOPEC, and SSTO.
According to the oil minister, the production is estimated to be 90,000 barrels per day for six months starting.
“You all know it is going to be a gradual process; you will not get the required figure in one day, but our target is 90,000 barrels a day,” Chol told journalists in Juba's capital of South Sudan.
You all know it is going to be a gradual process; you will not get the required figure in one day, but our target is 90,000 barrels a day,” Chol told journalists in Juba
He added that this is what the pipeline will accommodate in the first phase, and then thereafter, they might increase.
Before the war in Sudan, South Sudan had been pumping about 150,000 barrels per day of crude through Sudan for export.
South Sudan has faced significant economic challenges in recent years, exacerbated by a volatile global oil market, regional instability, and internal disruptions that have frequently impacted production.
While the 2018 peace agreement is yet to be fully implemented, South Sudan has postponed elections, scheduled for December 2024 to 2026 over pending registration of voters, a process that faced financial shortages amid an economic crisis that has seen civil servants go for a year without salaries. The elections are to be the first in South Sudan since its independence in 2011.
Kang, however, says this restart will have a significant positive impact on the country's economy.
"Our economy is suffering," said Chol, [but] this will improve our economy."
