JUBA, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan said Tuesday that it would resume the production and export of crude oil to the international market through Port Sudan starting Wednesday.
Minister for Petroleum Puot Kang Chol said the government has been collaborating with Sudan's Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, Dar Petroleum Operating Company (DPOC), a consortium of oil exploration and production companies, Bashayer Pipeline Company, the company in charge of the pipeline, and China National Petroleum Corporation, among other international partners, to guarantee the resuming of the oil production.
"The Ministry of Petroleum and partners are hereby directing DPOC to kick-off resumption of crude production and operation as early as Jan. 8," the minister told journalists in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.
He noted that the Dar Blend's production would start in Blocks 3 and 7, with a target of 90,000 barrels daily in the first six months and then would rise.
Chol said that partners raised several concerns about technical readiness to resume production, including force majeure and security assurance, which he said had been addressed.
The flow of South Sudan's crude oil through the Sudanese pipeline was disrupted after the infrastructure was damaged in early 2024 due to the ongoing clashes between the Sudan Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, which erupted in mid-April 2023.
Currently, South Sudan depends on Sudan's oil infrastructure to transport crude through Port Sudan for export to international markets. ■
