---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: John Ashworth <[email protected]> Date: Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 4:59 PM Subject: [sudan-john-ashworth] China to Push Oil Talks To: Group <[email protected]>
1. China’s Africa Envoy Will Head to Sudan to Push Oil Talks By Salma El Wardany and Jared Ferrie Dec. 5 (Bloomberg) -- China is sending its special envoy for African affairs, Liu Guijin, to help push oil negotations over between Sudan and newly independent South Sudan. China is “concerned” that oil talks between north and South Sudan have stalled, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters today in Beijing. “Oil is the lifeline of the two Sudans.” South Sudan has accused Sudan of blocking shipments of its oil that pass through northern pipelines to Port Sudan on the Red Sea. Sudan today said two cargoes were delayed due to the longer processing time needed since it started last month to take a percentage of the south’s oil that it says should be paid as transportation fees. “It now takes time to notify oil companies that we’re going to put hands on 23 percent of their oil, because we want everything to go in a legal way,” Foreign Ministry spokesman el- Obeid Murawih said by phone in Khartoum. South Sudan assumed control of about three-quarters of the former state’s output of 490,000 barrels a day when it seceded on July 9. Last month it seized the stakes held by Sudan’s state oil company, Sudapet, in joint operations in the south with companies such as China National Petroleum Corp., Malaysia’s Petroliam Nasional Bhd. and India’s Oil & Natural Gas Corp. Negotiators from the two countries failed to reach agreement last week in African Union-brokered talks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on the fees South Sudan should pay the north to ship its crude. The discussions are due to resume this month. China’s Role “I think the role of China is important to assist the two parties to agree on a formula,” Fouad Hikmat, an analyst with the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, said in a Skype call from Zanzibar on Dec. 3. “But again it depends on the willingness of the parties to compromise, and this is a rare commodity for the moment.” South Sudan says Sudan delayed a shipment of 600,000 barrels to China International United Petroleum & Chemical Corp., due to be loaded by Dec. 30, prompting the company to write a letter of complaint. A 1-million barrel shipment scheduled to be sent to Geneva-based Vitol SA by Dec. 1 was loaded on Dec. 3, according to the country’s Oil Ministry. China wouldn’t try to mediate the negotiations, Murawih said. “China is not coming to play a mediating role in that sense,” he said. “China is an economic partner and is concerned about its interests in the region." END1 2. South Sudan: Juba Warns Khartoum Against Oil Confiscation Ater Garang Ariath 3 December 2011allAfrica.com Juba — The Minister of Petroleum and Mining Stephen Dhieu Dau has issued statement explaining the position of South Sudan Government following press statement by Sudan that it will confiscate in form of petroleum 23% of the South Sudan government entitlement of oil allegedly as payment in kind for what government of Sudan refers to as pipeline and transit fees. He said that the government of South Sudan already is paying fees for the use of pipelines and other oil-related infrastructures located in Sudan, adding that the implication in GoS statement that South Sudan is not paying for the use of that infrastructure is "blatantly false" and therefore seizing such large quantity of oil is illegal and tantamount to confiscation done by Sudan unilaterally. Dau pointed that operators of the pipelines in Sudan have been invoicing the government of South Sudan in accordance with established pipeline tariffs that apply on a non-discriminatory basis to all shippers on those pipelines, and South Sudan has settled or will settle those invoices in the ordinary course of business, the Ministers stressed. He accused government of Sudan of apparent intention to impose charges on South Sudan in addition, or in replacement of the cost based tariffs that apply under established agreements administered by the pipeline operators, even though GoS has only a partial ownership in one of those pipelines and does not operate either of the pipelines. The Minister said not only does this intention by Sudan violate the contractual and legal structure governing those pipelines, but it also violates " clear principles of international law", which stipulates that transport tariffs and transit charges need to be non-discriminatory and cost based. The imposition of these fees comes after a rejection by Sudan of a financial assistance package worth $5.4 billion offered by South Sudan, exceeding the proposal made by AUHIP under the leadership of mediator Thambo Mbeki, he added. The Minister hit back that there is no economic, legal or other justification for the unilateral taking of South Sudan oil whose government deserves all its rights to take "legal action against" the government of Sudan and any other third party cooperating with it in facilitating the unlawful confiscation of South Sudan oil. He warned any company that agrees to buy or sell crude oil from the government of Sudan whether directly or indirectly and handling shipping deals and facilitating the dealing with any of the oil that the government of Sudan had stolen from the government of South Sudan. Dau further said that the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining will direct all the foreign oil companies, the oil consortia and the pipeline companies operating or providing services to South Sudan not to cooperate with the GoS in the re-direction of any of the volumes of South Sudan entitlement crude oil to any person other than as directed by South Sudan or its authorized agents. The Minister called upon the Government of Sudan to refrain from any hostile act and reconsider its position regarding the $5.4 b package and not to deprive Sudanese citizens from the benefit from this assistance provided. http://allafrica.com/stories/201112040150.html END2 3. Ministers to decide on stalled South Sudan-Sudan oil talks Saturday, 03 December 2011 11:36 Radio Miraya The National Deputy Minister of Information and Broadcasting Atem Yak Atem on Friday said the Council of Ministers will decide on the stalled oil talks between Sudan and South Sudan next week. Atem told press after the council of ministers meeting on Friday that the government is not yet able to make decision because talks are still ongoing between South Sudan and Sudan in Addis Ababa. "The council of ministers was briefed about the talks between the governments of South Sudan and Sudan over the transportation of oil from the south to Port Sudan and the fees that Sudan demands from south," said Atem. Earlier this week, talks between South Sudan and Sudan ended in a deadlock in Addis Ababa after the two parties failed to agree on oil transaction fees through Port Sudan. http://www.radiomiraya.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7337:ministers-to-decide-on-botched-south-sudan-sudan-oil-talks-&catid=85&Itemid=278 END3 4. Sudan's Denies Blocking Two South Sudanese Oil Shipments By Salma El Wardany and Jared Ferrie Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Sudan's government denied it's blocking two South Sudanese oil shipments through its pipeline and said it was confident of defending any legal action taken by its southern neighbor over the dispute. South Sudan said yesterday the blockade prompted China International United Petroleum & Chemical Corp., which is awaiting delivery of 600,000 barrels of oil, to write a letter of complaint about the delay. A 1 million barrel shipment scheduled to be sent to Geneva-based Vitol SA by Dec. 1 has also been delayed, according to the country's Oil Ministry. ``Sudan hasn't blocked any oil shipments and shall never do,'' al-Obeid Murawih, spokesman for Sudan's Foreign Ministry, said by phone today from Khartoum, the capital. ``If a company has really complained to the south, then I assure you it was just stopped for some routine reasons and will resume its work shortly.'' Sudan said on Nov. 30 that while it had not blocked crude shipments from the south that pass through its pipelines for export from Port Sudan on the Red Sea, it has started taking a percentage of the south's oil that it says should be paid as transportation fees. South Sudanese Oil Minister Stephen Dhieu Dau said today the consignments still hadn't been shipped as of last night and his country may be forced halt oil production on Dec. 6 unless the shipment is moved. "Khartoum should not lie," he said in a phone interview today from Juba, the South Sudanese capital. Legal Action South Sudan said on Dec. 1 it will take legal action against anyone who trades in oil ``unlawfully taken from South Sudan by or on behalf of'' the government of Sudan. "South Sudan is welcome to take any legal action, and we're quite sure we're compliant with international law and ready for any legal disputes," Murawih said. ``We've been trying hard to reach a solution over oil with them for the last six months and we couldn't, so maybe seeking international arbitration might solve the problem.'' Officials from the two countries failed to reached agreement this week in African Union-brokered talks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on the fees South Sudan should pay the north to ship its crude, as well as the disputed region of Abyei, and said negotiations will resume this month. `More Difficulties' ``The relations between the north and the south are heading toward more difficulties, which would complicate resolution of other pending issues, including border demarcation, Abyei and the oil,'' Fouad Hikmat, the special adviser on Sudan for the International Crisis Group, said in a Skype call from Zanzibar today. South Sudan assumed control of about three-quarters of the former state's output of 490,000 barrels a day when it seceded on July 9. Last month it seized the stakes held by Sudan's state oil company, Sudapet, in joint operations in the south with companies such as China National Petroleum Corp., Malaysia's Petroliam Nasional Bhd. and India's Oil & Natural Gas Corp. China on Nov. 29 urged the two sides to reach agreement in negotiations. ``Maintaining normal production of oil is important to both South Sudan and Sudan,'' Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters in Beijing. ``We hope North and South Sudan can stay rational, show restraint, and resolve relevant problems through neighborly pragmatism and friendly talks.'' END4______________________ John Ashworth Sudan Advisor [email protected] +254 725 926 297 (Kenya mobile) +211 919 695 362 (South Sudan mobile) +27 82 853 3556 (South Africa mobile) +44 750 304 1790 (UK/international) +88 216 4334 0735 (Thuraya satphone) PO Box 52002 - 00200, Nairobi, Kenya This is a personal e-mail address and the contents do not necessarily reflect the views of any organisation -- The content of this message does not necessarily reflect John Ashworth's views. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, John Ashworth is not the author of the content and the source is always cited. You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "sudan-john-ashworth" group. 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