Khartoum – The Ministry of Petroleum announced that the export of South Sudan's oil via pipelines running across Sudan's territory will resume on 20 April and will reach the export terminal within a month. 

A delegation from South Sudan led Machar Achek, undersecretary of the Ministry of Petroleum and Minerals, arrived in Khartoum yesterday for consultations with Khartoum on the resumption of oil pumping across Sudan's territory. 

 

Eng. Awad Abdul Fatah, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Petroleum told Sudan Vision after the arrival of the delegation that the visit by the high-level delegation from South Sudan means the start of implementation of the joint cooperation agreement in the field of oil, stating that instructions were recently issued by the Ministry to oil companies to make necessary preparations to resume oil export.

The South Sudan delegation which is on a visit to the country for two days will conduct a series of meetings with government officials responsible for oil sector to discuss ways and means of joint cooperation and resumption of oil pumping, he said. The two Ministries look forward to further cooperation in other areas, he added. 

The delegation was received upon arrival at Khartoum airport by the secretary general of the Ministry of Oil, Ministry officials, oil companies and South Sudanese Embassy representative. 

Machar said their Ministry is committed to what was agreed upon in Addis Ababa regarding the implementation matrix, stating that instructions were issued to the oil companies to re-operate the oil wells and resume oil pumping. He highlighted the importance of cooperation between Sudan and South Sudan to realize the interests of the two peoples. 

"We look forward to better cooperation between the two oil ministries" said Machar. 

Meanwhile, Minister of Petroleum Dr. Awad Ahmed Al-Jaz issued several strict directives to the Ministry personnel regarding resumption of oil activities and the need to follow rules and regulations. 

State Minister at the Ministry of Oil Dr. Faisal Hammad highlighted the possibility of signing a "twinship" agreement between Deishain and Higleg oilfields to use environment-friendly technology. He said his visit to China last week was intended for the increase of China's investment in the field of oil in Sudan by the introduction of modern oil technology. 

He also discussed with the Chinese companies (CNPC and CNDC) the possibility of developing Sudan oil industry including increasing oil exploration activities.

By Shadia Basheri