South Sudan has rescheduled plans to resume oil production and exports out of neighbouring Sudan, in order to reach an understanding with Khartoum over security issues, the head of the state-owned Nile Petroleum Corporation (NilePet),Paul Adong, said Sunday.
South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir declared on 14 November that his country’s oil production will be restarted this week, after nearly a year of suspending it over a dispute with Khartoum on transit fees for exporting the crude through the north’s pipelines.
Adong, who did not give a revised date, said preparations to resume pumping Southern crude through Sudan are continuing and have not been suspended despite the postponement.
He said that discussions over security arrangements regarding the establishing a demilitarised buffer zone and alleged backing of rebel groups either side of the border were ongoing.
In September the two sides signed a Cooperation Agreement, which will see South Sudan pay between $9.10 and $11 a barrel to export its crude through the north.
Juba will also pay $3.08 billion to help Sudan overcome the loss of three quarters of oil production due to Southern secession.
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