Sudan oil revenue drops slightly in May

July 7, 2009 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan’s oil revenue decreased by 7% from April despite improvement in crude prices worldwide over the last month.

The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance and National Economy, Al-Tayib Mustafa was quoted by Sudan official news agency (SUNA) as saying that total oil revenue for May was $147.83 million compared to $158.76 in April.

Mustafa said that the share of the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) in oil revenues increased in May to $63.43 million from $51.60 million in April saying this is the highest figure for the semi-autonomous government this year.

The share of GoSS for locally used oil was $28.01 million compared to $30.59 million in April.

He further stated that the shares of the oil producing states of Unity, the Upper Nile and South Kordofan were $1.0 million, $3.6 million and $6.4 million dollars respectively. The share of Abyei area in the oil revenues for May was $664,000.

The sharp drop in oil prices this year has impacted the budgets of North and South Sudan alike though the latter is far more dependent on oil proceeds.

(ST)