The Government of South Sudan is strongly warning Khartoum against its move to stop its oil exports through Sudan’s oil pipelines.
The Government of Khartoum decided to stop exporting South Sudan’s crude through its facilities saying Juba allegedly refused to pay transit fees to use Sudan’s oil infrastructure.The national minister of Petroleum and Mining, Stephen Dhieu Dau, told CRN news over the phone from Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, that he was surprised at yet another unilateral decision by Khartoum against his government.
Minister Dhieu said he became aware of Khartoum’s intensions to stop exporting South Sudan’s crude on Monday through a press statement from Sudan’s ministry of oil.
He added that Sudan is holding a reserve of crude in Port Sudan enough to export for one year.
Mr. Dhieu said Khartoum’s ministry of oil claims that South Sudan failed to pay more than 700 million US dollars for transit fees.
He denied South Sudan owes that much to the Sudan.
Mr. Dhieu noted that it is the Sudanese government that has not paid to South Sudan more than five billion US dollars in arrears of the oil revenue during the interim period.
Mr. Dhieu said South Sudan has offered a five-year financial assistance package of 2,6 billion US dollars to the Sudan hoping it paved the way for better relations between the two states.
South Sudan is a land-locked country and depends on Sudan to export its crude.
The Government announced in the past that it could build new pipelines linking South Sudan’s oil fields with Kenya’s new port of Lamu and other ports.
Mr. Dhieu is part of South Sudan’s delegation negotiating post-independence issues with Sudan.
The negotiations resumed last week.