Sudan has officially lifted the force majeure on transporting crude oil from South Sudan to the Red Sea, nearly a year after halting operations due to disruptions caused by the ongoing civil conflict.
The force majeure, declared in March 2023, followed repeated stoppages in the primary pipeline carrying oil from South Sudan to Sudan’s Port Sudan, stemming from the war between Sudan’s military and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
In a letter dated January 4, Sudan’s Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Mohiedienn Naiem Mohamed Saied, informed South Sudan’s Petroleum Minister, Puot Kang Chol, of the decision to resume operations. The letter cited improved security conditions and new arrangements between Sudan, South Sudan, and BAPCO, the company managing the pipeline.
The Petrodar pipeline, operated by a consortium including China’s CNPC, Sinopec, and Malaysia’s Petronas, stretches over 1,500 kilometers from South Sudan’s Melut Basin to Port Sudan. A secondary pipeline also carries crude from South Sudan’s Unity State.
Before the suspension, South Sudan exported around 150,000 barrels of crude daily through Sudan, a key economic lifeline for both nations.
This development marks a significant step towards stabilizing oil exports in the region amid Sudan’s ongoing civil conflict, which has triggered ethnic violence and caused the world’s largest internal displacement crisis.
