Sudan lifts force majeure on South Sudan oil pipeline
A worker walks by an oil well at the Toma South oil field to Heglig, in Ruweng State, South Sudan August 25, 2018. REUTERS/Jok Solomun
Sudan has officially lifted a nearly year-long force majeure on crude oil transportation from South Sudan to the Red Sea, citing improved security conditions.
The decision, detailed in a letter obtained by Reuters, was confirmed by Sudan’s Ministry of Energy and Petroleum on January 4.
The force majeure, declared in March 2023, halted operations on the primary pipeline transporting oil from South Sudan through Sudan for export. The disruption stemmed from the ongoing conflict between Sudan’s army and the insurgent Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which impacted the pipeline’s functioning.
In the letter addressed to South Sudan’s petroleum minister, Puot Kang Chol, Sudan’s Minister of Energy, Mohiedienn Naiem Mohamed Saied, wrote: “We are hereby lifting the force majeure.” He highlighted new security measures agreed upon with Juba and the Sudanese pipeline operator, BAPCO, ensuring the safe flow of oil.
The Petrodar pipeline, established by a consortium including China’s CNPC, Sinopec, and Malaysia’s Petronas, spans over 1,500 kilometers from South Sudan’s Melut Basin to Port Sudan. A second pipeline facilitates oil transportation from South Sudan’s Unity State to the same port.
South Sudan has been exporting approximately 150,000 barrels of crude oil per day through Sudan under an agreement dating back to its 2011 independence from Khartoum.
The lifting of force majeure comes as Sudan grapples with civil conflict that erupted in April 2023, triggering widespread ethnic violence and creating the world’s largest internal displacement crisis.
