Juba: Port Sudan Authority uses Oil to blackmail South Sudan

Officials in Juba question the true motive behind the decision by the Sudanese Army-affiliated Port Sudan Authority to halt South Sudan’s oil exports.

Officials believe the Port Sudan Authority is using the Rapid Support Forces’ attacks as a pretext to halt exports, however, the underlying purpose of the latest development is to pressure South Sudan to increase oil transit fees.

The Port Sudan-based Authority, has asked the Oil companies to make the necessary preparations in order to shut down oil export facilities from South Sudan following the attacks on Port Sudan.

A letter from the Sudanese Ministry of Energy and Petroleum to its South Sudanese counterpart stated that on (May 8th and 9th), RSF drones targeted a major pumping station and a fuel depot in Army-controlled areas, making an imminent halt to exports a “highly likely” scenario.

The letter shared that, attacks on electrical substations caused power outages at offshore terminals, affecting their ability to simultaneously load crude oil, in addition, the attacks on fuel depots might cause a severe shortage of fuel supplies essential for transportation systems.

Since their secession in (2011), landlocked South Sudan has relied on Sudan for oil refining and export via Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

According to local reports, crude oil flow from South Sudan currently stands at approximately (110,000) barrels per day.

The primary purpose of halting South Sudan’s oil exports is to pressure Juba to increase oil transit fees. In return, Khartoum receives transit fees that constitute vital revenue for the economy, which has been severely affected by the two-year war waged by the Sudanese Army against the Rapid Support Forces.

After a trade agreement between the two countries -Sudan and South Sudan- was suspended for about a year due to the conflict, it was resumed last January.

A technical advisor at the South Sudanese Ministry of Petroleum, speaking to (Sudan Tribune) on condition of anonymity, stated that the Port Sudan Authority’s letter arrived on Friday, (May 9th). He noted that it wasn’t an official working day in Sudan, but it is the last working day -of the work week- in South Sudan.

The advisor added, “We didn’t have the opportunity to meet and study the contents of the letter. If there is a response, it will be on Monday through official channels.”

The war, which has been raging since (mid-April 2023), has severely strained the Sudanese Army, forcing it to seek additional resources to finance its military arsenal.

Observers believe that another motive for halting South Sudan’s oil exports is to send a message that the escalation of the Rapid Support Forces’ attacks on vital facilities with drones also has direct repercussions for neighboring countries, and that pressure must be exerted on them -the RSF- to halt this escalation.

The intense and successive drone attacks on Military locations in areas previously considered relatively safe, located far from their strongholds, have caused confusion for the Sudanese Army and confused its military plans.

The attacks disrupted vital facilities under military control, such as the main fuel depot and power station, Port Sudan’s port, and its international civilian airport.