South Sudan Examining Alternative Oil Pipeline Routes: Report
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The South Sudanese government is looking at two possible routes to export oil, if its existing conflict with neighbours Sudan fail to reach an amicable solution, said its Petroleum Minister Stephen Dhieu Dau on Thursday, according to United Press International.
The South Sudanese government is looking at two possible routes to export oil, if its existing conflict with neighbours Sudan fail to reach an amicable solution, said its Petroleum Minister Stephen Dhieu Dau on Thursday, according to United Press International.
At present, most of South Sudan’s oil exports are meant to pass through a pipeline via neighbours Sudan to Port Sudan, which is controlled by Khartoum; but a disagreement over payments have seen this route shut down for almost a year now.
Although the two nations are presently still in talks to re-open the pipeline, and settle other border issues, South Sudan has constantly sought out alternative ways to export its oil – including a plan to send trucks of oil around their neighbours, according to Reuters.
[quote]”If the talks fail completely then we will think of alternatives such as moving of crude by trucks. It’s being considered but we’re still working on infrastructure,” said Mary Jervase Yak, South Sudan’s deputy minister of finance and economic planning, at that time.[/quote]Related: South Sudan Makes $3.2 Billion Peace Offer To Sudan
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Petroleum Minister Dau told UPI that multilateral agreements with Ethiopia and Djibouti created a mechanism for new pipeline construction from South Sudan. German and Japanese companies are also conducting feasibility studies on potential routes, Dau added.
“So far we have not yet chosen the route,” he said, though a basic design for what will be a small oil refinery project in South Sudan has already been completed.
Meanwhile, Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir met with his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday to discuss further Iranian investment.
Sudan saw nearly three-quarters of its oil production lost following South Sudan’s independence in 2011 and has been struggling to plug its gaping budget deficit.
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According to a separate Reuters report, Bashir and Ahmadinejad have met several times over the past two years despite opposition from within the Khartoum government.
Diplomats say that several members of Sudan’s parliament are concerned that Bashir’s connections with Iran would be an obstacle to winning more investment from Gulf Arab oil producers, which are currently among Sudan’s biggest donors.
Sudan also has to overcome a U.S. trade embargo over its human rights record, reported Reuters. Nevertheless, Sudan and Iran are likely to expand military cooperation despite already signing a military agreement back in 2008.
