South Sudan’s Vice President Calls for More Cooperation with Russia in Bid to Ensure Economic Growth

Vice President of South Sudan, Taban Deng with delegates at the event

Taban Deng Gai, the Vice President of the Republic of South Sudan, is looking to further develop economic and political ties with Russia in a bid to ensure his country’s economic growth.

Deng Gai is leading a South Sudanese delegation to the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum, a high profile event where he has talked about investment opportunities and the need for a stronger cooperation between Russia and South Sudan.

“With the resumption of peace and security, the government of the Republic of South Sudan has been especially active in attracting investment to the country,” he said.

“These efforts are proving successful. We have recently signed a second Exploration & Production Sharing Agreement for our biggest oil block last month, and are proud to have welcomed sizeable new entrants into our oil licenses over the past few years. We are proud to count Rosneft and other Russian energy companies as the partners of the rebuilding of South Sudan’s economy and oil industry,” Deng Gai explained.

The Vice President insisted on the importance of the Russian support to South Sudan’s political stability and economic prosperity. He welcomed Russia’s various initiatives to strengthen its dialogue with Africa this year, and invited more Russian companies to come and do business in South Sudan.

“We have committed to a long-lasting peace, prosperity and security for our people, and have emerged as a true African and global frontier of opportunity where everything is possible and the prospect of building a new world has become a reality,” he added.

The Republic of South Sudan has been successful in bringing back damaged and oilfields into production. The country’s national oil production has been steadily increasing to reach a current state of over 180,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd).

As efforts continue to develop the sector, pre-independence production levels of 350,000 bopd should be reached by 2020. The country’s government has been reforming the business climate to attract investments across South Sudan’s economy and has welcomed all foreign investors to come and make business in the country.

Talking about the importance of South Sudan’s cooperation with Russia when it comes to energy and oil and gas, Deng Gai highlighted the numerous investment opportunities offered to foreign investors within South Sudan’s oil industry. These include blocks B1, A1 to A6, E1 and E2, but also opportunities in pipeline infrastructure to the Indian Ocean, and in downstream infrastructure with the Safinat Refinery.

“Our energy relations with Russia go beyond that of investments. We welcomed Russia’s support and engagement in South Sudan across the value chain, including when it comes to sharing experiences on local content and developing capacity building programs for our engineers,” he continued.

The Vice President was accompanied by Minister of Petroleum, Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth, who invited Russian companies and investors to participate in the upcoming South Sudan Oil & Power Conference in Juba on October 28, 2019.