South Sudan & Egypt: Endorsed a Memorandum of Understanding Considering Cooperation of Downstream Oil and Gas

By Abdul Rahman Suagibu –

NEW AFRICA DAILY  NEWS, Freetown, Sierra Leone- South Sudan and Egypt have given an endorsement of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) considering cooperation in the field of downstream oil and gas.

South Sudan will dart its maiden licensing agreement in the first quarter of 2020 regarding thirteen blocks onshore open for tender.

As a real testament to South Sudan’s growing attractiveness as an investment destination, South Sudan hosted delegations and officials from Kenya, Ethiopia, Egypt, Somalia, Norway, United States and South Africa to discuss oil and future oil investments.

Minister of Petroleum of South Sudan- Daniel Awow Chuang in his address, expressed the country’s vision in the oil and gas sector, amongst increased production numbers.

“The oil production in South Sudan has reached 178 000 barrels per day. We hope to reach 250 000 barrels per day in the near future.

“We are successfully reaching target thanks to extensive support from our partners and neighboring countries,” said Chuang.

Minister Chuang underscored on the significance of its cooperation with Sudan, with whom a historic peace agreement was validated last September.

Chuang, as well as the First Vice President of South Sudan-Taban Deng Gai, showcased initiatives of the country’s efforts to increase oil production.

Last week, Sudd Petroleum Operating Company declared, it would commence oil production at the end of the year. With a capacity of 80,000 barrels per day, the oilfields have been shut down since 2016.

South Africa’s Strategic Fuel Fund, which approved an exploration and production sharing agreement in May 2019, announced it would launch an aerial surveying campaign of its block B2 in December.

SSOP 2019 saw the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the South Sudanese government and Egypt’s state oil company Egyptian National Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) regarding regional cooperation in the field of downstream oil and gas.

This comes a few weeks after Egyptian President Fattah Al-Sisi called upon Egyptian exploration and production companies to increase participation in African countries and urged service companies to invest in South Sudan.

Egypt boasted strong participation at the event, with several companies and delegations present including the EGPC, Petrojet, Petrogas, Al Khorayef, Drexel Oilfield Equipment, among others.

South Sudan announced it would launch its first-ever licensing round in the first quarter of 2020, putting up 13 onshore blocks for tender. Numerous international exploration and production companies have already demonstrated their interest in South Sudan’s oil and gas potential.

For New Africa Daily News Abdul Rahman Suagibu Reports,  Africa Correspondent

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