SOUTH SUDAN: South Sudan says it intends to complete shutdown of its oil facilities after Sudan and South Sudan failed to agree on a deal to end an oil crisis

Record ID: 344161

  • Title: SOUTH SUDAN: South Sudan says it intends to complete shutdown of its oil facilities after Sudan and South Sudan failed to agree on a deal to end an oil crisis
  • Date: 28th January 2012
  • Summary: PALOUGE, SOUTH SUDAN (JANUARY 27, 2012) (REUTERS) PRESSURE GAUGE ON OIL WELL BEING FLUSHED OUT IN UPPER NILE OIL WELL BEING FLUSHED OUT FOR SHUTDOWN MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT AND OFFICIALS FROM SOUTH SUDAN'S OIL MINISTRY WATCH AN OIL WELL BEING FLUSHED VARIOUS OF AN OIL CENTRAL PROCESSING FACILITY TALKING TO A JOURNALIST (SOUNDBITE) (English) PETRODAR FIELD OPERATION MANAGER, HAGO BAKHEED MAHMOOD, SAYING: "The programme is expected to finish in around three days more. Maybe by the 30th or 31st of this month the oil fields in Adar, Gumri, Moleta and Palouge will be totally shut down." OIL WORKERS WALK IN FRONT OF AN OIL STORAGE FACILITY OIL WORKERS WALK UNDER PIPES OIL WORKER STANDS IN FRONT OF OIL STORAGE FACILITY GAUGE ON OIL EQUIPMENT VARIOUS OF OIL TECHNICIANS SITTING AT A CONTROL PANEL AT AN OIL PROCESSING FACILITY (SOUNDBITE) (English) SOUTH SUDAN MINSTER OF PETROLEUM AND MINING, STEPHEN DHIEU DAU, SAYING: "The company was producing over 270,000 barrels per day while they were giving us 230,000. So we are talking over 40,000 barrels per day maybe, this is what's missing." SOLDIERS IN FRONT OF AN OIL FLARE OIL FLARING
  • Embargoed: 12th February 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: South Sudan, South Sudan
  • Country: South Sudan
  • Topics: Politics,Energy
  • Reuters ID: LVAB9N49ZH2T8HKIBWK9NG1OMTIA
  • Story Text: South Sudan's top negotiator said his country would complete an oil production shutdown by Saturday (January 28) after Sudan and South Sudan failed to agree on a deal to end an oil crisis.
    Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and South Sudan's President Salva Kiir met on the sidelines of a meeting of East African officials in Ethiopia.
    The two discussed a deal that "would have frozen the situation and reverses the unilateral actions that had been taken by both", a source close to the talks told Reuters.
    South Sudan is shutting down its oil production, last put by officials at 350,000 bpd in November, to protest against Sudan seizing some southern shipments at the northern port of Port Sudan in a dispute over pipeline fees.
    Both countries depend heavily on oil and have put forward widely differing figures for a possible transit fee. Sudan has publicly proposed $36 per barrel, while South Sudan has listed figures under $1 per barrel.
    The main operator Petrodar expects to close the key blocks 3 and 7, officials said on Friday. Petrodar is a consortium comprising mainly Chinese firms China National Petroleum Co (CNPC), Sinopec and Malaysian firm Petronas. Analysts estimate its total oil output from South Sudan at 250,000 bpd.
    "The programme is expected to finish in around three days more. Maybe by the 30th or 31st of this month the oil fields in Adar, Gumri, Moleta and Palouge will be totally shut down," said Petrodar field operation manager, Hago Bakheed Mahamood He said current output was still between 145,000 and 150,000 barrels a day, adding that the company could resume production within three to four days. Blocks 3 and 7 provide much of South Sudan's output.
    Oil Minister Stephen Dhieu Dau said the shutdown was going to plan.
    "The company was producing over 270,000 barrels per day while they were giving us 230,000. So we are talking over 40,000 barrels per day, maybe this is what's missing," said Dhieu Dau He spoke after the presidents of Sudan and South Sudan had met at the African Union in Addis Ababa.
    He said Khartoum may have diverted some oil from the fields which lay on the southern side of the joint border to feed its refinery in Khartoum.
    There was no immediate comment from Sudan which has said it was seizing an unspecified amount of southern oil to use for its refineries in a dispute over pipeline transit fees.
    Sudan has also sold at least one cargo of crude seized from South Sudan at millions of dollars discount to the official price charged by the South and is offering more, industry sources have said.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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