Page 4 - AfrOil Week 08 2020

AfrOil COMMENTARY AfrOil
Fuel shortages have spurred protests across Sudan (Photo: Radio Dabanga)
South Sudan seeks to turn the page
The establishment of a coalition government may represent
the best hope for the further development of the country’s oil resources
WHAT:
South Sudan has implemented a peace deal that spells an end to the civil war that dragged oil production down.
WHY:
The Petroleum Ministry sees the formation of
a unity government as
a necessary prelude to attracting new investors.
WHAT NEXT:
The end of civil conflict makes new initiatives such as next month’s licensing round more likely to succeed.
SOUTH Sudan is likely to have a better chance of drawing investors to its oil and gas sector following the establishment of a unity govern- ment by President Salva Kiir Mayardit and rebel leader Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon.
Machar had previously served as vice-presi- dent, but Kiir fired him in 2013, alleging that he had been planning a coup. After years of con- flict, Kiir’s administration finally struck a deal with Machar and his rebel faction, known as Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Op- position (SPLM-IO), on the formation of a coa- lition government.
The two sides had said last week that they intended to set up a unity government by Satur- day, February 22. On that day, they announced that they had met the deadline and had formally appointed Machar to the position of deputy president.
The transitional government will now work towards holding national elections in three years, they stated.
Kiir said he welcomed the start of coalition ruleoverSouthSudan.“Thisisanofficialendof the war, and we can now proclaim a new dawn,” he said in the ceremony during which Machar
took his oath of office. “Peace is never to be shaken ever again.”
The Petroleum Ministry’s hopes
This development is in line with the Petroleum Ministry’s hopes for South Sudan.
The ministry said on February 21, one day the before deadline for the formation of a unity government, that the peace deal represented the best hope for the country’s oil industry. The end of conflict between the warring factions will clear the way for increasing production and promoting the development of new reserves, it said in its annual report.
In the report, the ministry acknowledged that South Sudan’s crude oil output had dropped significantly in recent years. The country is now extracting about 180,000 barrels per day of oil, down from 250,000 bpd in 2013, the last year before the outbreak of civil war, it reported.
“Oilfield exploration and development work in South Sudan has been hampered since early 2014, [owing] to the security situation in the regions,”itsaid.
The decline is likely to continue if the proper
steps are not taken, it added. 
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 08 26•February•2020