South Sudan’s minister says oilfields in Unity State completely shut down
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January 26, 2012 (JUBA) – All the oil wells in Unity State of South
Sudan have been completely shut down in implementation of the
government’s decision to halt oil operations countrywide.
JPEG - 29.4 kb
(L-R) Stephen Dhieu and Dr. Benjamin Marial during the conference at
the Ministry of Information in Juba [©Gurtong]
The newly independent Republic of South Sudan decided last week to
suspend its daily oil production of 350 barrels after it accused
neighboring Sudan of stealing crude passing through pipelines on its
territories to export terminals in the Red Sea.
Khartoum defends its decision to confiscate South Sudan’s oil, saying
Juba has failed to pay transit fees since the south seceded from Sudan
in July last year as per a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of civil
wars between the two sides.
Land-locked South Sudan, seeking an alternative route to export its
oil, signed a deal with neighboring Kenya to construct a pipeline to
the port of Lamu.
On Wednesday, South Sudan’s cabinet held an extra ordinary meeting
chaired by Vice President Riek Machar to receive updates from the
minister of Petroleum and Mining, Stephen Dhiew, on the progress of
suspending oil operations.
Minister Dhiew was given two weeks by the government to complete
shutdown of 601 oilfields in Unity and Upper Nile States, where most
of the country’s oil wealth is concentrated.
During the meeting, Oil Minister However Dhiew assured the Council of
Ministers that his ministry would complete the suspension process of
within the two-week deadline.
The minister of Information and broadcasting, Barnaba Marial, told the
press after the meeting that a taskforce had already been set up to
oversee the completion of the shutdown process.
Marial announced that all oil companies in Unity state had
successfully terminated their operations while other companies in
Upper Nile state are very slow in implementing the resolution of the
government.
The minister further said that the Council of Ministers considers
planning for construction of another oil pipeline to Djibouti through
Ethiopia, in addition to the one to Lamu Port in Kenya.
He also added that another resolution was passed directing the
minister of Petroleum to urgently build one oil refinery that would be
ready for use in South Sudan within the next four to six months.
According to Marial, the plan also includes construction of two
additional refineries in the near future.
Sudan Tribune has learned that an American company expressed its
readiness to build the refinery within six months and held serious
discussion with the government in this regard on Wednesday.
(ST)
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