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A top official in South Sudan's national oil company said Tuesday that oil pipelines were primed to start pumping oil within two weeks.

"Technically, everything is possible," the official told Dow Jones Newswires, as oil workers had been maintaining the equipment while the oil taps were shut off and would be able to restart at short notice.

Officials said earlier Tuesday that Sudan and South Sudan had reached a deal to resume crude shipments from South Sudan through Sudanese pipelines and ports within two weeks. Teams had been negotiating at talks mediated by the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Traders and analysts have doubted the speed at which South Sudan could restart exports, given heavy damage inflicted on key oil facilities during border fighting.

South Sudan cut off its crude shipments in January 2012, estimated at roughly 350,000 barrels a day, amid a dispute with its northern neighbor over oil transit fees and a border dispute.

Write to Jenny Gross at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; Twitter: @jgginlondon

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Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNFARJ9Y9khcSY6sziM-c__axx9DRA&url=http://www.foxbusiness.com/news/2013/03/12/south-sudan-oil-pipelines-set-to-pump-in-two-weeks-official/