Following pipeline repairs and an upsurge in fighting in the region, South Sudan will soon resume pumping export-bound crude oil via neighbouring Sudan, revealed a representative of the South Sudanese Government.

Tut Gatluak Manime, a South Sudanese politician currently serving as a presidential advisor on security affairs, announced engineers had “reviewed all the pipelines”, and although some needed repairs and cleaning, they are “ready for full production of oil from South Sudan”.

A military conflict erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary force primarily composed of the Janjaweed militias, in April last year, prompting a humanitarian catastrophe.

The oil exports transported through the pipeline have been a vital source of revenue for South Sudan, contributing the vast majority of its revenues, with Sudan taking a cut.

Back in September, landlocked South Sudan, which has oil reserves estimated at three billion barrels, announced it was getting nearer an agreement with Sudan over the transportation and export of crude oil after months of delays and disputes.

The main pipeline carrying oil from South Sudan through Sudan began to suffer serious issues in March, mainly related to an ongoing regional conflict. South Sudan’s oil production reached 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) before the conflict.

A five-year civil war within South Sudan, that ended in 2018, saw the country’s exports fall dramatically, with a conflict with Sudan a few years later also hitting production.

According to GlobalData, Offshore Technology’s parent company, South Sudan’s total gross crude oil and condensate production in 2020 was 151,400bpd, declining at a compound annual growth rate of more than -5% during the period 2021–25.