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South Sudan to Resume Oil Exports - Voice of America

Charlton DokiMugume Davis Rwakaringi


 
South Sudan's Petroleum and Mining Minister Dhieu Dau said he expects oil companies will resume production at less than 80 percent capacity initially, before ramping up to full output. Before the shutdown, South Sudan produced around 350,000 barrels of oil a day.

The two Sudans signed an agreement early Tuesday after negotiations, mediated by former South African president Thabo Mbeki, went through the night. Under the terms of the agreement, Juba pledged to resume pumping oil and Khartoum to transport and process crude from the south.

Many earlier agreements, including nine that were signed in September, have never been implemented by the two Sudans, but Amum voiced hope that the latest accord would mark "a new page" in the neighbors' acrimonious history.

“It is our hope that, with the signing of the new matrix, a new page is opened to implement all the agreements that have been signed, whether it is oil to flow... or trade or movement of our people or security in the border between the two countries,” Amum said.
 
Oil is vital to the economies of the two Sudans. Strict austerity measures imposed by South Sudan when it halted oil production last year led to many people living on government aid.

But with the oil set to flow again, officials in Juba said the handouts for the needy would stop.

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