South Sudan raises production as shutdown threat removed


With the threat of another pipeline shutdown averted, South Sudan’s oil production is expected to increase from about 180,000 b/d to 200,000 b/d in the coming weeks, and to at least 250,000 b/d by year-end, according to oil industry sources in Juba. During a one-day summit in Khartoum on 3 September with South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir, Sudanese leader Omar Hassan Al-Bashir agreed to reverse his decision, announced on 9 June, to stop receiving, processing and transporting crude from South Sudan within 60 days. Under pressure from oil companies and foreign governments, Bashir had already twice delayed the anticipated shutdown, originally scheduled for 7 August, to 22 August and then to 6 September.