S. Sudan: Dar Petroleum targets 180,000 barrels per day

September 29, 2012 (JUBA) – The President of Dar Petroleum, Sun Xian Sheng said the oil company is set to produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil per day when South Sudan resumes oil production in the next few months.

Sheng, while addressing employees at a company event in Juba, the South Sudan capital, said they are simply waiting for official government notification, before they can embark on oil production.

“Dar Petroleum will reach 180,000 barrels per day, probably in the coming three months when normal oil production resumes,” he said.

Dar Petroleum, which transports oil from Block 3 and 7 in South Sudan’s Upper Nile state, produces about 80 percent of the country’s oil.

South Sudan early this year shut down its oil production following a dispute with Sudan, but an agreement reached on Thursday between the leaders from the two countries which could see oil production resume in three to six months.

However, an oil deal struck in July, will see the Republic of South Sudan paying US$8.4 and $6.5 for Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company (GNPOC), and Dar Petroleum products, respectively GNPOC operates blocks in South Sudan’s Unity State.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Friday stressed the importance of the full implementation of the agreement reached between Sudan and South Sudan, while calling for rapid resolution of the final status of Abyei and other disputed and unclaimed areas.

On Thursday, South Sudan President, Salva Kiir and his Sudanese counterpart, Omar Al Bashir, reached an a deal on security, oil, financial, nationality and trade issues, after days of close-door talks under the facilitation of the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP).

These agreements, the UNSC said, represent a major breakthrough for the establishment of peace, stability and the prosperity of the two countries, while giving a cause for “genuine” hope that will benefit people from both Sudan and South Sudan.

(ST)