South Sudan and Egypt signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) vis-à-vis cooperation in the field of downstream oil and gas during the 2019 edition of SSOP (South Sudan Oil and Power), a two day event organised by Africa Oil and Power.
The MoU was between the South Sudanese government and Egypt’s state oil company, Egyptian National Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and comes weeks after Egyptian President Al-Sisi called on Egyptian exploration and production companies to increase participation in African countries, and urged service companies to invest in South Sudan.
At the event, 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 the country’s oil and gas potential.
Demonstrating South Sudan’s growing attractiveness as an investment destination, SSOP 2019 hosted delegations and officials from Kenya, Ethiopia, Egypt, Somalia, Norway, United States and South Africa.
During his opening address, Daniel Awow Chuang, Minister of Petroleum of South Sudan, outlined the country’s vision for the oil and gas sector, amidst increased production numbers.
“Oil production in South Sudan has reached 178 000 barrels a day. We hope to reach 250 000 barrels a day in the near future and are successfully reaching our targets thanks to extensive support from our partners and neighbouring countries.” He emphasised the importance of his country’s cooperation with Sudan, with whom an historic peace agreement was signed last September.
Chuang and Taban Deng Gai, First Vice President of South Sudan, highlighted several initiatives illustrating the country’s efforts to significantly increase oil production. Sudd Petroleum Operating Company will be resuming oil production at the end of the year. The oilfields, which have a capacity of 80 000 barrels a day, have been shut down since 2016.
South Africa’s Strategic Fuel Fund, which signed an exploration and production sharing agreement in May 2019, has announced it will be launching an aerial surveying campaign of its block B2 in December.
