UK court blocks South Sudan oil sale over unpaid loan

A court in the United Kingdom has granted BB Energy an injunction stopping South Sudan’s sale of oil over an unpaid loan of $100 million.

The High Court in London, Thursday stopped Juba from exporting a multimillion-dollar crude oil shipment until the repayment was effected for the loan which was issued to the African country earlier in 2025.

The Sudan Post reported that the court order was issued on 18 November by Judge Christopher Butcher and bars the delivery, selling, or in any way disposing of a 600,000-barrel cargo that was scheduled to depart Port Sudan on 27 November.

The online publication explained that the $20 million crude was part of the consignments the litigant BB Energy was claiming under a financing arrangement signed in February 2024.

”Under that agreement, BB Energy advanced US$100 million to South Sudan with the understanding that the loan would be repaid through regular oil shipments. However, according to court filings, the government allegedly failed to honour its commitments” said the Sudan Post report.

At the heart of BB Energy’s contention is that Juba had diverted crude shipments to other buyers instead of supplying it the agreed cargoes to repay the loan.

This it said left it losing millions of dollars from the expected repayments and turned to the UK court as a last resort to ”prevent a further dissipation of assets that should rightfully service the outstanding loan”.

The injunction means that current shipment will remain untouched until further court hearings decide if South Sudan are in breach of the financing deal and whether BB Energy is entitled to remedial measures to recover damages.

Source: https://apanews.net/uk-court-block-south-sudan-oil-sale-over-unpaid-loan/