By Bida Elly David
The governments of South Sudan and Sudan have reached a preliminary agreement to restore peace and facilitate the transportation of crude oil through pipelines in Sudan to global markets.
A high-level delegation from South Sudan, led by Tut Gatluak Manime, the security advisor in the office of the president, petroleum minister, Puot Kang and Minister in the Office of President, Joseph Bangasi Bakosoro visited Sudan to meet with the government and address the challenges facing the production and export of crude oil.
During their visit, the delegation conducted a comprehensive inspection and visited the Red Sea, where the crude oil from South Sudan is stored and sold to the international markets.
Speaking to the media, Tut Gatluak said the meeting covered the need for the Sudanese government and its rivals to reach a consensus aimed at improving fuel production for the economies of the two countries.
“The agreement we signed is a preliminary agreement to allow access for engineers to repair the pipeline,” Gatluak said.
He explained that the government of Sudan has agreed to reach a consensus with the opposition to guarantee the systematic flow of fuel through the pipeline repair.
“The South Sudanese government has emphasized that peace needs to be restored, as the ongoing conflict in Sudan has affected many areas under the control of government forces and the Rapid Support Forces,” Gatluak said.
He noted that South Sudan has no direct conflict with Sudan, but it hopes for the restoration of lasting peace for economic growth.
“This conflict has truly affected the production and transportation of the crude oil,” Gatluak said.
The delegation head urged the Sudanese government to ensure security in the region to rescue the economies of both countries.
Gatluak further stressed that President Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan of Sudan has assured the readiness of all parties to agree and ensure that the oil transport is smooth and safe.
“During the meeting in Port Sudan, President Al-Burhan promised to engage the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudan Armed Forces in talks aimed at protecting oil facilities in Sudan,” Tut stated.
For his part, Sudanese Minister of Energy and Oil Dr. Mohieddin Naeem Muhammad Saeed, acknowledged that oil is the backbone of the economies of both countries and expressed commitment to the resumption of production.
“We are much concerned about the situation with the war that transpired and called on the construction oil company to commence their work on the pipeline repair,” he said.
The visit comes after the government tasked Tut Gatluak to engage directly with the warring parties in Sudan to allow the repair of oil pipeline flow.
The oil pipeline carries South Sudan’s crude exports through Sudanese territory to international markets.
Since the damage to the pipeline in February, which caused the drop in oil revenues, the government has been facing challenges in exporting crude oil.
Majority of government income comes from oil exports, so the loss of rupture of the pipeline has dealt a severe economic blow to the country.