South Sudan and Sudan discussed the resumption of South Sudanese crude oil exports via a port in Sudan and noted the progress made, following months of shut-in crude flows from South Sudan due to a ruptured pipeline in war-torn Sudan.
South Sudan's President Salva Kiir met with the Chairman of Sudan's Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, and discussed the resumption of oil exports through Sudan, following four months of work on the oil infrastructure, the president's office said in a statement on Monday.
"Foreign Affairs Minister Ramadan Abdalla Mohammed Goc confirmed that Sudanese engineers have accomplished the necessary technical preparations for the resumption of oil production," the office of the president added.
Engineers from South Sudan are expected to visit Sudan in the coming weeks to take stock of the progress and assess whether the pipeline and associated infrastructure are ready to resume crude oil flows from South Sudan, the minister added.
South Sudan's oil exports have plunged since the beginning of the year. The country is struggling to get any money in its budget as its oil exports, on which it depends for 90% of state revenues, are stalled by a ruptured pipeline in neighboring Sudan that is currently the only outlet for South Sudan to sell its crude.
In March, Sudan declared force majeure on crude oil exports from its landlocked neighbor South Sudan, following a major rupture in the pipeline carrying crude from South Sudan to a port in Sudan in an area with active military activity.
The latest conflict in Sudan erupted in April last year, when the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group, took up arms against the Sudanese army in the capital Khartoum.
Many of South Sudan's oilfields cannot send their oil north via the pipeline in Sudan and revenues for South Sudan are plummeting.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
Tsvetana is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing for news outlets such as iNVEZZ and SeeNews. More