The COVID-19 pandemic seems to have done more than pose a threat to oil-producing nations; it is surprisingly building stronger ties between South Sudan and Sudan, according to reports.
According to a Sudanese official, Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok held a discussion with South Sudanese President, Salva Kiir, about supplying South Sudan with additional oil crude for gasoline refined in Sudan.
Before this new proposal, in 2019, the agreement signed in Khartoum stipulated that South Sudan would pay $26 for each oil barrel passing through the Sudanese pipeline operator. The new proposal is that South Sudan will provide Sudan with 28,000 barrels per day of crude oil as a price paid to Sudan in exchange for using Sudan’s pipeline and oil infrastructure.
The undersecretary of the Ministry of Energy and Mining, Hamid Suleiman, told Sudan Tribune that the proposed new deals by the governments of both countries are to avoid the repeated fuel crises that Sudan has experienced recently.
He was quoted saying, “Khartoum asked Juba to supply it with more than 20,000 barrels per day after the global decline in oil prices and in exchange Sudan will give South Sudan gasoline from El-Obeid refinery after refining the crude.”
“The government of South Sudan agreed in principle after talks between Prime Minister Hamduk and President Salva Kiir Mayardit, who promised to respond within the next two days.” According to him, Sudan’s oil production is currently at 63,000 barrels per day.
Reports state that South Sudan’s oil production has reached 165,000 barrels per day. The share of the government in JUBA is about 70,000 barrels, while the rest is shared amongst its foreign partners.
If agreed upon, this looks to be good news coming out of the countries in the North East of Africa, after many years of conflicts and disagreements, splitting of the country, political wars and a lot more. Seeing the presidents of both countries being able to maintain a bit of sanity and agree on deals is a welcome development and a high point for Africa.
