(Reuters) – South Sudan will resume pumping crude oil for export through a port in neighbouring Sudan within a few days, a South Sudanese government official told Reuters on Thursday, following repairs to a key pipeline ruptured during fighting in Sudan.
War broke out between Sudan’s army (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April last year, forcing millions to leave their homes and causing a famine.
The oil exports transported through the pipeline in Sudan have been a vital source of revenue for South Sudan, representing 90% of its foreign exchange earnings, with Sudan taking a cut as a transit fee.
Tut Gatluak Manime, who headed a delegation that recently traveled to Port Sudan to discuss resuming oil exports, said officials had visited all the production sites along the pipeline.
“We reviewed all the pipelines, some were frozen but were cleaned with hot water and some chemicals and now the pipelines are ready for full production of oil from South Sudan,” he said.
Officials from South Sudan’s energy ministry will receive a team of Sudanese engineers on Saturday to develop a plan to restart oil flows in a few days’ time, Manime said. He did not give a specific date.
South Sudan had been sending between 100,000 to 150,000 barrels of crude oil per day to Sudan for export.
According to analysts, the pipeline damage had resulted in environmental contamination and increased food prices in a region already grappling with a severe hunger crisis.
(Reporting by Denis Ejulu; Writing by Sonia Rao; editing by David Evans)
