Sudan’s oil minister rejects Amum’s accusations on July sales
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July 2, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese oil minister Lual Deng on
Saturday vehemently rejected accusations leveled by Sudan People
Liberation Movement (SPLM) Secretary General Pagan Amum in which he
accused him of betraying the South by splitting 48% of the crude
proceeds with the North in July without consulting the Juba based
government.
JPEG - 29.3 kb
FILE - Sudan’s Petroleum Minister Lual Deng speaks during a news
conference at state oil firm Sudapet’s headquarters in Khartoum
February 21, 2011 (Reuters)
Amum who was speaking to South Sudan TV from Addis Ababa stated that
such a move is in violation to the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement
(CPA) which he said suspends wealth sharing protocol as of July 9.
This date represents the end of the interim period and the day in
which South Sudan officially becomes an independent state.
Southerners voted last January overwhelmingly in favor of secession
from the North in a referendum that was promised to them by the peace
accord which ended more than two decades of civil war between the
mainly Arab-Muslim North and the mostly Christian and ’African’ South.
Currently both sides evenly share the revenue generated by the oil
produced in the landlocked South that is transported through the
pipelines into the Red Sea coastal city of Port Sudan.
The negotiating parties in the Ethiopian capital from the SPLM and the
ruling National Congress Party (NCP) have reportedly agreed on paying
a fee in return for the transfer of oil through the pipelines owned by
the North but details are still being worked out. Amum heads the SPLM
delegation in these talks.
Last month Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir threatened to turn
off the pipelines if the South does not reach an agreement with the
North on oil by July 9.
The Sudanese oil minister, who is a Southern figure, defended the sale
saying it was done with the consent and knowledge of South Sudan
president Salva Kiir. He added that the ministry follows the
international standards in selling oil with a future load date.
Deng stressed that his position in the federal government requires him
to perform in the interests of all parties and that the work in his
ministry is conducted in complete transparency. He mocked Amum and
describied him as someone who lacks experience and knowledge in the
oil sector.
He further said that the SPLM SG should have requested written reports
or an oral briefing before disseminating these charges. The SPLM
minister stressed his commitment to preserve the rights and wealth of
Southerners.
Deng acknowledged that the wealth sharing protocol transfers the
entire oil wealth to the ownership of Southerners after July 9 noting
that President Kiir has formed an ad-hoc committee to market the oil
that is comprised of SPLM members and foreign experts but emphasised
that it does not contain anyone from the NCP.
He told citizens of South Sudan that their oil is in good hands and
that he is keener than others on protecting their rights and interests
calling on them to work hard to build their new state and avoid the
negatives which incapacitated development in the South in th epast.
The oil minister indicated his preference for the use of the North’s
pipelines to export oil and ruled out any other alternatives for at
least the next 36 months stressing the high costs associated with
exporting it through ports in Uganda or Kenya as has been considered.
Most of Sudan’s proven oil reserves that is estimated at six billion
barrels lie in the South, but the crude is funneled north to the Red
Sea, through pipelines and refineries to Port Sudan.
(ST)
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