Page 4 - AfrOil Week 35 2019

AfrOil COMMENTARY AfrOil
Sudan: What’s at stake
As the country moves into a period of profound political transition, its oil sector will warrant close attention
WHAT:
Sudan’s oil portfolio is less impressive than that of neighbouring South Sudan, but it still warrants close attention.
WHY:
The country controls the only existing pipelines available for South Sudanese production.
WHAT NEXT:
The new transitional government will have to balance oil interest and economic growth with other concerns.
THIS year has been a momentous one for Sudan. e country’s long-time leader, President Omar al-Bashir, le o ce in April. He was forced to do so by the Sudanese military, following sev- eral months of demonstrations by crowds who began by protesting over economic hardships and then shi ed to calling for the president’s resignation.
Al-Bashir’s departure at the hands of a mil- itary junta, known as the Transitional Military Council (TMC), did not put an immediate end to the unrest. e TMC’s attempts to maintain public order drew heavy criticism from politi- cal opposition parties and protestors, many of whom feared that Sudan might be exchanging one form of tyranny for another. e African Union also expressed concern, saying it was ready to suspend Sudan’s membership unless steps were taken to ensure the country’s transi- tion to civilian rule.
But conditions have improved during the last two months. e TMC struck an informal deal with the wide array of opposition and protest groups that had rallied under the banner of the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) on July 5, and the parties signed an o cial agreement outlining their plans for a 39-month political transition period on July 17. On August 3-4, they approved a constitutional agreement that
helped esh out these plans. en on August 17, they formalised the deal by signing a package of documents that will govern the course of the country until elections are held in 2022.
Change
This development sparked celebrations across the country. Demonstrators and FFC supporters lined the streets of Khartoum and other cities to hail the agreement between the TMC and the civilian umbrella group.
It also cleared the way for the appointment of Abdalla Hamdok, an experienced econo- mist who had previously worked for the UN, as Sudan’s interim prime minister. Hamdok is widely expected to focus on economic growth – and this is probably a good thing, given that Sudan has enjoyed precious little in the way of growth or stability in recent years.Output has yet to recover, even though it has moved upward as a result of the reduction in armed con ict. Pro- duction now stands at around 185,000 bpd, and the South Sudanese government hopes to see it rise again to 200,000 bpd by the end of this year and then reach 2011 levels in the early 2020s.
Indeed, the country’s economy has been
going downhill since 2011, when its southern-  most provinces broke away to form the new state
of South Sudan.
Anadolu Agency
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 35 03•September•2019