Sudan Events – Agencies
A letter reviewed by Reuters on Monday showed that Sudan has lifted the force majeure that had been imposed for nearly a year on the transportation of crude oil from South Sudan to a Red Sea port following an improvement in security conditions.
Khartoum declared force majeure last March after the main pipeline that transports oil from South Sudan through Sudan for export was halted due to problems stemming from the war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
In a letter sent by Sudan’s Ministry of Energy and Petroleum on January 4 to the Minister of Energy of South Sudan, Khartoum stated that it had lifted the force majeure based on new security arrangements reached with Juba and the Sudanese pipeline company Bashayer (BAPCO) to ensure the safe flow of oil.
Sudanese Energy and Petroleum Minister, Mohieddin Naeem Mohamed Said, wrote to South Sudan’s Minister of Petroleum, Puot Kang Chol, saying, “We lift the force majeure.”
A Sudanese Ministry of Energy official confirmed the authenticity of the letter.
The Petrodar pipeline, built by a consortium including China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Sinopec, and Malaysian Petronas, extends more than 1,500 kilometers from the Melut oil basin in South Sudan’s Upper Nile State to Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast of Sudan. Another pipeline transports oil from South Sudan’s Unity State to Port Sudan.
