Sudans Agree To Restart Oil Flow After Border Deal
https://nigeriaafrica1.blogspot.com/2013/03/sudans-agree-to-restart-oil-flow-after.html
South Sudan said on Tuesday it would be ready to restart oil production within three weeks after finalizing a deal to resolve bitter border and security disputes with its neighbor and long-time foe Sudan.
Hours after the announcement, Sudan said it had begun pulling its troops out of a buffer zone along the countries' shared boundary, easing tensions and echoing South Sudan's announcement of a troop withdrawal on Monday.
Landlocked South Sudan shut down its 350,000 barrel-per-day crude output in January last year in a row with Sudan over how much it should pay to send the oil through Sudanese pipelines to the Red Sea.
The closure had a devastating effect on both struggling economies, which rely on foreign currency from oil sales and pipeline fees to import food and fuel.
It also exacerbated explosive quarrels over disputed territory and other issues left unresolved between the two countries after South Sudan's secession from Sudan in July 2011.
Border skirmishes brought the two close to war in April and each accuses the other of backing rebels in their territories.
Sudan's chief negotiator, Idris Mohammed Abdel Gadir, signed a deal with South Sudanese counterpart Pagan Amum early on Tuesday setting out a timeline to restart exports after four days of African Union-brokered talks in Addis Ababa.
Former South African president Thabo Mbeki, who has been mediating between the two sides, told reporters they had agreed to order oil companies to restart production within two weeks of "D-Day", given as Sunday, March 10.
A copy of the implementation timeline seen by Reuters confirmed the date. "Resumption of production shall take place as soon as technically feasible," it said.
The oil deal capped months of on-off negotiations. Both countries had already agreed to pull troops from the border and to restart oil flows in principle in recent months.
But differences over how to put the agreements into practice had stymied efforts to get a concrete settlement.
Tuesday's oil deal, and other security pacts agreed on Friday, were backed up by concrete timetables, said diplomats following the discussions, though they warned there was still a chance things could break down.
Landlocked South Sudan shut down its 350,000 barrel-per-day crude output in January last year in a row with Sudan over how much it should pay to send the oil through Sudanese pipelines to the Red Sea.
The closure had a devastating effect on both struggling economies, which rely on foreign currency from oil sales and pipeline fees to import food and fuel.
It also exacerbated explosive quarrels over disputed territory and other issues left unresolved between the two countries after South Sudan's secession from Sudan in July 2011.
Border skirmishes brought the two close to war in April and each accuses the other of backing rebels in their territories.
Sudan's chief negotiator, Idris Mohammed Abdel Gadir, signed a deal with South Sudanese counterpart Pagan Amum early on Tuesday setting out a timeline to restart exports after four days of African Union-brokered talks in Addis Ababa.
Former South African president Thabo Mbeki, who has been mediating between the two sides, told reporters they had agreed to order oil companies to restart production within two weeks of "D-Day", given as Sunday, March 10.
A copy of the implementation timeline seen by Reuters confirmed the date. "Resumption of production shall take place as soon as technically feasible," it said.
The oil deal capped months of on-off negotiations. Both countries had already agreed to pull troops from the border and to restart oil flows in principle in recent months.
But differences over how to put the agreements into practice had stymied efforts to get a concrete settlement.
Tuesday's oil deal, and other security pacts agreed on Friday, were backed up by concrete timetables, said diplomats following the discussions, though they warned there was still a chance things could break down.
