South Sudan says oil exports via Sudan resume after pipeline repair

June 10, 2025 (JUBA) – South Sudan’s oil exports through Sudan have resumed after repairs to a pipeline damaged in an airstrike, a senior official said on Tuesday, a development that could ease the country’s severe economic pressures.

Deng Lual Wol, an undersecretary at the petroleum ministry, said the damaged infrastructure had been fixed and that ships were now collecting the crude. The revenue would help the government pay salary arrears and revive economic activity, he said.

“The good news is our oil exports have resumed,” Wol told reporters in Juba.

Wol credited the resumption to efforts by President Salva Kiir and Vice President Benjamin Bol Mel, and also thanked Sudanese authorities and oil companies for their role.

Landlocked South Sudan depends on a pipeline through its northern neighbour to export its crude oil, which accounts for more than 90% of its state revenue.

Exports were halted after a recent airstrike on key infrastructure in Sudan, where the army has been at war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which Sudanese authorities have blamed on the RSF.

The disruption had a major impact on South Sudan’s budget and stalled development projects.

A Sudanese diplomat in Juba confirmed the restart. Maburak Mahjoub Musa, the deputy head of Sudan’s mission, said joint technical teams had repaired the damage.

“I can confirm that everything is functioning normally,” Musa said.

The news came a day after employees at Nilepet, South Sudan’s state-owned oil company, went on strike to protest delayed salary payments and pay cuts, highlighting the fiscal crisis the export disruption had caused.