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      • South Sudan says 2.4 Million barrels of oil taken in fee dispute

South Sudan says 2.4 Million barrels of oil taken in fee dispute

South Sudan said 2.4 million barrels of oil produced in December and January were confiscated by its northern neighbor, Sudan, amid a dispute over transportation fees that prompted the south to halt crude output.

The oil was taken in addition to the 2.6 million-barrel amount that was confiscated in January, Pagan Amum, the south’s chief negotiator in talks to resolve the dispute, told reporters in Juba, South Sudan’s capital, today. He didn’t say when it was taken.

Oil companies told the south during talks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which broke down yesterday, that the Sudanese government had taken the oil, Amum said. “This was a shock to
us,” he said.

 South Sudan completed a shutdown of crude production Jan. 28 after accusing Sudan of diverting fuel to its refinery, forcing companies to load oil onto ships it controlled and
blockading other shipments. Sudan said it confiscated crude to cover unpaid fees it’s owed for allowing the southern neighbor to transport oil via a pipeline to Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

Sabir Hassan, a consultant who’s the joint head of the economic group of Sudan’s negotiating team, said in an interview today in Addis Ababa that South Sudan rejected Khartoum’s offer
of $36 per barrel, offering $7. He said the $36 includes transportation costs, processing payments and the use of Sudan’s marine terminal, as well as a transit fee.

 

Infrastructure

 

Amum said Khartoum had no right to charge transportation or processing fees because the south has been paying them to the oil companies. He showed letters to reporters from the companies today to support his claim and said marine-transport fees are included in the fees already being paid.

Sudan’s foreign affairs ministry spokesman, al-Obeid Murawih, said South Sudan must pay the government regardless of any fees paid to the companies.

“They are using our infrastructure and they have to pay for it, that’s our position and there’s no intention to change it so far,” he said by phone today.
 

The next round of negotiations is scheduled for Feb. 23, and the south will continue to press for repayment of “stolen” oil, as well as an agreement on other outstanding issues including the status of the region of Abyei and disputed sections of the border, Amum said. Without a comprehensive deal, South Sudan would not begin production again, he said.

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