South Sudan has restored normal crude oil production and exports following a brief shutdown caused by attacks on energy facilities in neighboring Sudan, according to government officials.
“Operations in all oil fields in South Sudan have returned to a normal export,” Petroleum Ministry Undersecretary Deng Lual Wol announced to reporters on Wednesday in the capital, Juba. “All crude exports from South Sudan are fully flowing to the export terminals in Port Sudan.”
Oil companies operating in the two African nations had shuttered production earlier this week after assaults on facilities in Sudan, which has been engulfed in a civil war for more than two years. Landlocked South Sudan relies entirely on pipelines running through Sudan to transport its crude to Red Sea terminals for shipment to international markets.
Dar Petroleum Operating Company is currently producing 97,000 barrels per day following the brief shutdown and plans to ramp up output to 150,000 barrels daily, Wol reported. Greater Pioneer Operating Company’s production stands at 40,000 barrels per day and is expected to rise to its normal level of 50,000 barrels, while Sudd Petroleum Operating Company is pumping 13,000 barrels daily, slightly below its pre-disruption level of 15,000 barrels.
The disruption was triggered when Bashayer Pipeline Company, which transports South Sudan’s Dar Blend oil to Sudan, initiated an emergency shutdown on November 15 after its Al Jabalain processing plant and a power facility came under attack. Additionally, Sudan’s state-owned Petrolines for Crude Oil Company issued a notice on November 13 regarding a drone attack at the Heglig oil field, where Nile Blend is produced. The company had declared force majeure at 2B OPCO, an exploration and production company in which it holds a 50 percent stake.
Source: rigzone.com