31.01.12 Menas Borders
South Sudan insists on border deal for oil
South Sudan has demanded that a border agreement with Sudan should be signed
before it restarts oil exports, amid a growing row over the situation along
their
boundary.
On 29th January, South Sudanese Oil Minister Stephen Dhieu Dau said that “oil production will restart when we have a comprehensive agreement
and all the deals are signed”. The country has shut down all its oil production
over the past few weeks after Sudan started taking oil in lieu of fees which it
claims are owed by South Sudan.
The north controls the oil export pipelines but most of the actual production is
concentrated in the south. After the south became independent last July, this
became a major point of contention between the two Sudans. Oil accounts for 98%
of
South Sudan's budget, so the oil shutdown will have serious economic effects;
however, the north is also heavily dependent on oil transit and export fees.
South Sudanese officials are now demanding that the sides settle a whole host of
issues before oil exports restart. One of the most significant is the status of
the broder and the disputed region of Abyei. “Sudan must recognize the 1956 border, which means they must give back all the
areas under occupation,” according to Dau.
This would mean handing over control of Abyei, a nexus for local rebellions and
cattle raids which have killed hundreds in recent months. Juba has accused
Khartoum of supporting local gunmen who have rampaged through the border
region; the
north, in turn, accuses the south of backing insurgents who were affiliated
with
the ruling southern party but were left in Sudan after the secession agreement.
The UN has called on both sides to pull back from Abyei, insisting that the
presence of police and security forces there was destabilising the border
situation.
However with the UN peacekeeping force there still under-strength and unable to
control the region, neither side is willing to pull back until it has secured a
favourable verdict on the border region and its oil wealth.
Sources: Telegraph, Reuters, Sudan Tribune