Days before the export of South Sudan’s oil resumption through Sudanese ports after it stopped about a year, Khartoum began closing the ore pipeline again, in a move considered by observers a political and economic message addressed to Juba, which is accused by Sudanese government departments of supporting the rapid support forces.
A source in the Sudanese Ministry of Energy and Oil said that Sudan had informed the government of South Sudan that the Sudanese authorities issued directives to oil companies to start closing the pipeline transporting oil from South Sudan to export ports in Port Sudan, according to Al -Jazeera correspondent in Sudan.
In a message to his southern Sudanese counterpart, Sudanese Minister of Energy and Oil, Mohieldin Naim, attributed the step to attacks by rapid support forces aircraft targeting oil facilities in Sudan.
The letter indicated that a march plane attacked on May 9th this May a pumping station in the Al -Houdi area, east of Atbara, in the state of the Nile, which resulted in severe losses, and one day before, a fuel -warehouse driver in the White Nile state attacked.
The letter also indicated that the attacks on the power stations caused the power outage from the marine stations, which affected its ability to load crude oil simultaneously, in addition to that targeting warehouses threatens a severe shortage of fuel supplies necessary for transportation systems.
Why does the state of South Sudan export its raw oil across the Sudanese lands and ports on the Red Sea?
Since their separation in 2011, South Sudan, who does not have naval outlets, has depended on exporting its oil via Port Sudan port on the Red Sea. The flow of crude oil from South Sudan is about 100,000 barrels per day, which is an important source of revenues for both countries.
Also, the majority of fields and technical treatment centers are within the Sudanese border, and the Sudanese pipeline has been implemented before the separation. Juba studied the creation of alternative pipelines across Kenya or Djibouti, through Ethiopia, but found that this is not economic feasibility, and that Sudan is the best choice for it under its current circumstances.
Will the export stoppage be the first time since the south separated from its northern neighbor?
In February 2024, the Ministry of Energy in Sudan announced the case of the force majeure after the line stopped working due to the freezing of oil inside the pipeline for technical reasons, after the rapid support forces took control of two pumping stations in the White Nile State and eastern Khartoum State.
Last March, the Sudanese Ministry of Oil informed its southern counterpart of raising the “force force force” situation, and began to pump crude through the tubes after that.
The transfer of South Sudan oil through Sudanese pipelines in April 2012 was also resumed after a hiatus of more than a year, as a result of escalating tension between the two countries, especially about the sharing of oil revenues and its transit fees.
On May 7, 2023, Khartoum announced that South Sudan’s oil has flowed again across Sudanese territory, but on the 27th of the same month, former Sudanese President Omar al -Bashir ordered the suspension of the flow of southern oil through Sudanese territory, after accusing the southern government of supporting the rebels in the South Kordofan state adjacent to South Sudan and in the Darfur region, before the crisis was settled between the two leaders later.
What is the amount of oil produced by the State of South Sudan?
South Sudan has a large amount of confirmed oil reserves, which places it third in Africa. In 2020, the total of these precautions reached about 3.5 billion barrels, most of which are not used due to poor infrastructure and weak investments.
South Sudan inherited 75% of the Sudanese oil reserve when declaring its independence in July 2011. It was transporting about 150 thousand barrels per day of crude oil across Sudan for export, according to an agreement concluded after independence, to control two -thirds of oil production.
At its peak before the civil war in the southern state, crude oil production in southern Sudan reached between 350 thousand to 400 thousand barrels per day.
What are the ruling agreements between Sudan and its southern neighbor?
After the secession of the south, the two countries signed an agreement to export its oil production through two lines, one of which extends with more than 1500 km from the Malout Basin in the southern state of the Nile to the Bashir al -Sudani port on the Red Sea coast, while the last pipeline is transported from the state of unity to the same port.
According to an official in the Sudanese Ministry of Oil to Al -Jazeera Net, the agreement also includes the use of technical treatment facilities and the operation of 6 pumping stations in Sudanese territory until the crude reaches the port of Bashaer.
How does Sudan benefit financially from that?
The government official, who asked not to be identified, explains that Sudan gets $ 25 for each barrel, and includes oil treatment fees and transportation fees, in addition to the sovereign fees and the remaining percentage of the revenues of transitional financial arrangements for Sudan compensation for the revenues it lost with the secession of the south.
Sudan also benefits from taking 10 thousand barrels, its share is raw in its refining in the Khartoum refinery, after the Sudanese production decreased from about 100 thousand barrels after the secession of the south, to about 60 thousand barrels before the outbreak of the war, and the current deterioration to 15 thousand barrels per day.
Sudan also benefits from obtaining 18 thousand barrels per day, to deduct its share of the fees, to operate the “Umm Dabaker” power plant in the White Nile State.
These fees and services compensate for what Khartoum lost after the secession of the south, as it lost two -thirds of oil production because of the fields of the southern state, and oil revenues represented about 90% of the country’s foreign exchange resources, according to the speaker.
How much does the government of South Sudan earn money?
The oil sector represents the backbone of the economy in the state of South Sudan since the declaration of its separation, and oil constitutes about 98% of the total government revenue, and 60% of the gross domestic product, as it is the main source of foreign exchange.
The southern government has established small refineries of oil, which provided hydrocarbons and contributed to the stability of services and reduce dependence on the import of oil derivatives.
In his interview with Al -Jazeera Net, economic researcher Khaled Suleiman believes that the south has a direct interest in resuming oil export to ensure its political and economic stability, as all the expenses of development and the salaries of employees depend on it. About a year ago, workers in the state and some government forces have not received their salaries, and the “pound” currency lost more than 70% of its value, and the prices of goods and services escalated after the oil exports stopped.
Is Sudan’s waving to stop the export of southern oil behind technical or political reasons as well?
Observers believe that there are technical difficulties after the shelling of the Rapid Support Forces, through drones, electricity stations near Port Sudan, feeding the southern oil crude pumping station, which led to its stopping. The bombing of a fuel depot in the port that is used to operate the equipment and devices associated with oil exports.
Observers do not rule out that the Sudanese government is looming to stop exporting southern oil to put pressure on Juba, which is accused by international reports and platforms close to the Sudanese army of providing facilities for the Rapid Support Forces, passing weapons and fuel to the Darfur region across the common border, and the participation of mercenaries from the south alongside the Rapid Support Forces, families and killing hundreds of them.
