Sudan Says That South Sudan to Pay Outstanding Oil Fees

South Sudan's Ministry of Petroleum and Mining Undersecretary David Loro Gubek said that Sudan and South Sudan were evenly splitting proceeds of the 500,000 oil barrels the two countries produced as a previously unified state. The new arrangement is in line with the 2005 peace agreement between the two countries sides following South Sudan’s secession two months ago, which resulted in the new nation acquiring nearly 75 percent of the country's oil production, though the transit oil export pipelines remained under Khartoum’s control.
 
Gubek said that Khartoum originally demanded $32 per barrel transit fee, a rate that the new government termed as "broad daylight robbery" but told reporters, "If the African Union decides that we have to pay this amount, I think we will pay it. Until then, the transport fees can be summed up and paid in arrears, according to the decision of the African Union. We have agreed they will handle it," The Sudan Tribune reported.

On 9 September the U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan, Princeton Lyman urged both Sudan and South Sudan to resume talks on oil within a week to resolve outstanding transport issues. The same day as Lyman’s mission South Sudan president Salva Kiir stated that increased prices of fuel and other commodities in South Sudan were the result of a blockade allegedly imposed by Khartoum on South Sudan trade export routes.

By. Joao Peixe, Deputy Editor OilPrice.com