South Sudan accuses Sudan of blocking oil production
Sudan is blocking South Sudan from restarting oil production as agreed in a September peace deal, South Sudan President Salva Kiir said.
Khartoum demanded South Sudan stop supporting rebels fighting in the Sudanese border states of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile before it lets oil to pass through its pipelines, he said. South Sudan denies backing the group and accuses Sudan of funding proxy fighters south of their shared border.
“We were supposed to restart oil on Nov. 15, five days ago,'' Kiir said in a speech yesterday in Melut, 625 kilometers (389 miles) north of the capital, Juba. He flew there went to lay the cornerstone for South Sudan's first oil refinery, a 10,000 barrel-a-day facility. “Suddenly, Khartoum people changed their minds.''
South Sudan halted production in January after accusing the northern government of stealing $815 million of its oil, which Sudan said it took to recover unpaid transportation and processing fees. That and other disputes, including over border security, brought the countries to the brink of war in April.
Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir and Kiir on Sept. 27 signed a series of agreements to end the conflict, including an oil accord that stipulates a fee schedule. Landlocked South Sudan acquired three-quarters of the formerly united Sudan's output of 490,000 barrels a day when it declared independence in July 2011 after a two-decade civil war.
‘Increasingly Concerned'
The U.S. is “increasingly concerned'' that implementation deadlines in the Sept. 27 pact are being missed, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in an e-mailed statement Nov. 19.
“We are also disappointed by delays in the resumption of oil production,'' she said. “This denies much needed revenue to both economies, and we urge both parties to resume production while they work to resolve other bilateral issues.''
South Sudan's $9 billion economy is expected to suffer a “massive drop in GDP'' because of the shutdown. Oil provides 98 percent of state revenue in the world's newest country. Economic growth slowed to 1.9 percent in 2011 from 4.2 percent a year earlier, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Sudanese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman al-Obeid Murawih didn't answer two calls to his mobile phone today. Sudan's parliament speaker on Nov. 18 said South Sudan is still supporting rebels in violation of the peace agreement, the Paris-based Sudan Tribune website reported.
Oil in South Sudan is pumped mainly by China National Petroleum Corp., Malaysia's Petroliam Nasional Bhd. and India's ONGC Videsh Ltd. Kenya's Equity Bank Ltd., Kenya Commercial Bank and CfC Stanbic Holdings Ltd., the Kenyan unit of Standard Bank Group, all operate branches in the country.
- Database Search
- Unpaid Debt A comprehensive overview of the role of the Lundin Consortium in the oil war. ECOS calls upon the Swedish, Austrian and Malaysian governments to investigate whether, as a matter of international law, Lundin, OMV and Petronas 'were complicit in the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity by others during the period 1997-2003.’ In response, the Swedish Public Prosecutor for International crimes opened a criminal investigation into ‘links between Sweden and the reported crimes’.
- In Depth For more specific information about the Lundin court case please visit the Unpaid Debt dossier.
