Tentative peace for South Sudan but output continues to fall

South Sudan’s oil income has been slashed by lower output, falling global prices, and an increasing production share taken by the government’s upstream joint venture partners. The treasury has fallen behind with payments due to Sudan for the use of its export infrastructure and is paying its debt by diverting greater quantities of oil to its neighbour. In 20 months the conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives, displaced 4.6m people, and reduced oil production by up to a third and the burden of the war effort is exerting further pressure on the treasury, which is consistently overspending its military budget.