South Sudan sets up emergency team to continue oil production amid crisis in Sudan

JUBA, April 20 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan said Thursday that it has set up an emergency response team (ERT) in collaboration with oil-producing firms to ensure continuous production of oil following the outbreak of conflict in Sudan last weekend.

Puot Kang Chol, minister of Petroleum, said the ERT is being guided by a well-defined and structured contingency plan that will proactively mitigate the severity of the impact of the fighting in Sudan by re-routing all the logistics and transportation of all critical materials, chemicals, and equipment as the crisis has mildly affected the logistics and transportation of the essential materials and equipment through Port Sudan to oilfields in South Sudan.

"The current inventories of all critical materials, chemicals, and equipment in the oilfields are enough to sustain a smooth production and exportation activity of our crude oil for the next three months, and the established emergency response team is tirelessly working with all the stakeholders and their counterparts in Sudan to ensure continues production of crude oil in South Sudan despite the ongoing fighting in Sudan," Kang told journalists in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

He said all the oilfields facilities such as the pipelines, pump stations, field processing facilities, field surface facilities and the export marine terminal in Sudan are well protected and safe from any damage, and they continue to produce and export an average of 169,140.81 barrels of crude oil per day from all the oilfields in South Sudan.

Kang said the ERT is in continuous communication and cooperation with the relevant authorities at Port of Mombasa in Kenya and Port of Djibouti in Djibouti to ensure timely clearance and transportation of all critical materials, chemicals, and chemicals equipment bound for the oilfield activities in South Sudan if any in those ports.

South Sudan, which depends mainly on oil revenue to finance its annual fiscal expenditure, is struggling to stabilize its economy.

The crisis erupted in Sudan as major disagreements have recently emerged between the Sudan Army Force and the Rapid Support Force (RSF), especially over the RSF's integration into the army.

Nearly 300 people have been killed and more than 3,000 more injured in clashes in Sudan since the unrest started on April 15, according to the World Health Organization.