South Sudan-Israel Oil Deals Raise Ire In Khartoum
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Sudan will block any attempt made by South Sudan to export oil to Israel via Sudanese territory, said a member of the ruling National Congress Party’s (NCP) on Wednesday, criticising Juba for compromising ongoing peace talks between the two neighbours, by signing independent contracts prematurely.
Sudan will block any attempt made by South Sudan to export oil to Israel via Sudanese territory, said a member of the ruling National Congress Party’s (NCP) on Wednesday, criticising Juba for compromising ongoing peace talks between the two neighbours, by signing independent contracts prematurely.
According to Qutbi al-Mahdi, the former head of Sudanese intelligence, South Sudan’s deals with Israeli companies had dealt a “serious blow” to the Addis Ababa agreement between South Sudan and Khartoum; and said that South Sudanese negotiators would now have leverage on oil talks with their northern compatriots.
Mahdi added that Khartoum may now issue a sovereign resolution banning the export of southern oil through Sudan to Tel Aviv, though he ruled out the possibility that the agreements would affect the Sudanese economy.
[quote]“We have planned our budget so as not to avoid relying on southern oil revenues,” said Mahdi in an interview with Al-Hayat News.[/quote]On January 18, South Sudan’s Petroleum and Mining Minister Dhieu Dau had announced several deals with Israeli companies to export oil to the Jewish state. As South Sudan is landlocked, most of its oil exports must go through a pipeline that ends up in Port Sudan, which is controlled by Khartoum.
According to Reuters, Juba may resort to trucking oil around their neighbours if talks with Sudan aimed at re-starting exports through a pipeline fail.
“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.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has also criticised both Sudan and South Sudan for failing to resume oil exports, claiming that the revenue were not only vital for both economies, but also critical to the peace process.
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[quote]”The government of Sudan’s intent to postpone the restart of oil production until the implementation of security arrangements is complete runs counter to the fundamental principles of the (September) accord and continues to undermine the economic and security situation in both states,” said U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland in a statement.[/quote]This “continues to undermine the economic and security situation in both states,” Nuland stressed, urging Sudan to “cooperate with South Sudan and begins direct talks with the SPLM-N to address the Two Areas conflict,” referring to two disputed Sudan states that border South Sudan.
