SUDAN/FILE: A senior Sudanese official dashes hopes of a quick end to a row with South Sudan over oil export fees, blaming Juba for blocking chances of a deal that would relieve both countries' beleaguered economies

Record ID: 344132

  • Title: SUDAN/FILE: A senior Sudanese official dashes hopes of a quick end to a row with South Sudan over oil export fees, blaming Juba for blocking chances of a deal that would relieve both countries' beleaguered economies
  • Date: 13th March 2012
  • Summary: KHARTOUM, SUDAN (MARCH 11, 2012) (REUTERS) WIDE OF MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM PREMISES SIGNBOARD FOR MINISTRY OF OIL OFFICIAL AT THE MINISTRY WALKING INTO THE BUILDING. STATE OIL MINISTER ISHAQ ADAM GAMAA TALKING TO JOURNALIST JOURNALIST ARRANGING HIS PAPERS. (SOUNDBITE) (English) STATE OIL MINISTER ISHAQ ADAM GAMAA, SAYING: "They have insisted not even to talk about proposals, so we try to give some flexibility about those are instead. The decision is theirs." JOURNALISTS TAKING NOTES. (SOUNDBITE) (English) STATE OIL MINISTER ISHAQ ADAM GAMAA, SAYING: "We came into the oil business only 10 years ago, so we have our system of taxing. We have our system of agricultural products. We have our system of livestock." JOURNALISTS LISTENING TO THE MINISTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) STATE OIL MINISTER ISHAQ ADAM GAMAA, SAYING: "Right now we are producing 115 thousands barrels per day. By the end of 2012 we will be able to produce 180 thousands barrels per day. By the end of 2013 we will be able to produce 300 thousands barrels per day. Then we have long and medium-term programmes by which we hope will be able to produce one million barrels per day."
  • Embargoed: 28th March 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Sudan
  • Country: Sudan
  • Topics: Business,International Relations,Politics,Energy
  • Reuters ID: LVA1MONOL7XSHLNTH4NX09RNOA4V
  • Story Text: State Oil Minister Ishaq Adam Gamaa insisted Sudan was under no pressure to rush any deal with the South because its economy could still survive without oil, a veiled warning to Juba, which depends on oil revenues for 98 percent of its income.
    The U.N. Security Council and the European Union last week urged both countries to end their oil row which some Western diplomats fear could lead to war as oil is the lifeline of both economies.
    South Sudan split from Sudan in July under a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of civil war, but both states are still wrangling over how much the landlocked new nation should pay to export oil through northern pipelines.
    In January, Juba shut down its entire output of about 350,000 barrels per day (bpd) after Khartoum started taking some oil to compensate for what it called unpaid transit fees.
    The African Union is trying in a new round of talks in Addis Ababa to broker a deal, but Gamaa accused Juba of blocking a compromise.
    "They have insisted not even to talk about proposals by (the African Union)," he told Reuters in an interview in the oil ministry on Sunday (March 11), adding it was up to Juba to choose whether it wanted a deal or not. "The decision is theirs," he said.
    Gamaa said Khartoum was in a better position than Juba to weather the oil shutdown because its larger economy had diversified revenue sources such as gold and livestock exports.
    "We came into the oil business only 10 years ago, so we have our system of taxing. We have our system of agricultural products. We have our system of livestock," he said.
    In contrast, South Sudan looks vulnerable. Southern officials have said the new nation has foreign exchange reserves to manage for up to a year, but analysts have said the country may struggle after just a few months.
    Sudan has said it wants a wider deal with South Sudan which would also cover sharing debt of almost 40 billion U.S. dollars.
    Sudan hopes to resume oil exports from next year, when production would hit 180,000 bpd from 115,000 bpd due to a better recovery rate and production from new fields within existing blocks.
    "Right now we are producing 115 thousands barrels per day. By the end of 2012 we will be able to produce 180 thousands barrels per day. By the end of 2013 we will be able to produce 300 thousands barrels per day. Then we have long and medium-term programmes by which we hope will be able to produce one million barrels per day," Gamaa said.
    Sudan signed a technical agreement with Norway last month to boost the recovery rate to around 45 percent from 23 percent.
    Both Sudan and South Sudan also need to find a solution for the disputed border region of Abyei, mark the poorly-demarcated border and end accusations they are supporting rebels on each other's territories.
    Gamaa declined to confirm that Khartoum had sold at least one shipment of confiscated oil, saying only that the government had taken the amount of oil it was entitled to as a transit fee.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register