Sudan’s oil minister rejects Amum’s accusations on July sales
July 2, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese oil minister Lual Deng on Saturday vehemently rejected accusations leveled by Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) Secretary General Pagan Amum in which he accused him of betraying the South by splitting 48% of the crude proceeds with the North in July without consulting the Juba based government.
This date represents the end of the interim period and the day in which South Sudan officially becomes an independent state.
Southerners voted last January overwhelmingly in favor of secession from the North in a referendum that was promised to them by the peace accord which ended more than two decades of civil war between the mainly Arab-Muslim North and the mostly Christian and ‘African’ South.
Currently both sides evenly share the revenue generated by the oil produced in the landlocked South that is transported through the pipelines into the Red Sea coastal city of Port Sudan.
The negotiating parties in the Ethiopian capital from the SPLM and the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) have reportedly agreed on paying a fee in return for the transfer of oil through the pipelines owned by the North but details are still being worked out. Amum heads the SPLM delegation in these talks.
Last month Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir threatened to turn off the pipelines if the South does not reach an agreement with the North on oil by July 9.
The Sudanese oil minister, who is a Southern figure, defended the sale saying it was done with the consent and knowledge of South Sudan president Salva Kiir. He added that the ministry follows the international standards in selling oil with a
future load date.
Deng stressed that his position in the federal government requires him to perform in the interests of all parties and that the work in his ministry is conducted in complete transparency. He mocked Amum and describied him as someone who lacks experience and knowledge in the oil sector.
He further said that the SPLM SG should have requested written reports or an oral briefing before disseminating these charges. The SPLM minister stressed his commitment to preserve the rights and wealth of Southerners.
Deng acknowledged that the wealth sharing protocol transfers the entire oil wealth to the ownership of Southerners after July 9 noting that President Kiir has formed an ad-hoc committee to market the oil that is comprised of SPLM members and foreign experts but emphasised that it does not contain anyone from the NCP.
He told citizens of South Sudan that their oil is in good hands and that he is keener than others on protecting their rights and interests calling on them to work hard to build their new state and avoid the negatives which incapacitated development in the South in th epast.
The oil minister indicated his preference for the use of the North’s pipelines to export oil and ruled out any other alternatives for at least the next 36 months stressing the high costs associated with exporting it through ports in Uganda or Kenya as has been considered.
Most of Sudan’s proven oil reserves that is estimated at six billion barrels lie in the South, but the crude is funneled north to the Red Sea, through pipelines and refineries to Port Sudan.
(ST)