An oil facility in Unity State | File photo

The government has called on Sudan to stop the illegal inland lifting of the country’s crude oil without agreement.

The request was made after reports emerged at the 6th Governors’ Forum in Juba – that Sudan is diverting South Sudan’s crude oil.

The Minister of Petroleum, Puot Kang Chol accused Khartoum of diverting 28,000 barrels of South Sudan oil to Sudan’s refiners.

Media outlets also quote Minister Kang as saying – Sudan has diverted South Sudan’s oil worth 446 million dollars, raising fears of strained relations between the two neighboring nations.

Kang stated that the Sudan has built an alternative pipeline with the intention to continue diverting oil.

During the closing day of the governors’ forum, the Petroleum Minister recommended that the government asks Sudan to stop diverting the crude oil belonging to its neighbor.

“I want to say let put to stop inland lifting because when you only put lifting it refers to the lifting at Port-Sudan. Inland lifting is when you take it from the pipeline directly to the refinery,” he said.

Meanwhile, the governors resolved to ask Sudan to adhere to the Agreement on oil and Related Economic Matters, especially the Transitional Financial Arrangements which ended in February 2022.

The Minister of Petroleum also called on the government of Sudan to respect the provision of the CPA on the distribution of oil revenues of Abyei and clear the arrears since 2005.

“I think we need to say something about the oil in Abyei, the President recently formed a committee and we have never settled that with Sudan,” Kang said at the forum.

“I think it is important that we asked Sudan to adhere to the oil distribution of Abyei and to respect it, which will give the committee that was formed recently by the President the power to negotiate.”

South Sudan has 3.5 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, with its oil export amounting to almost the entire revenue.

The Sudanese Embassy in the country was not immediately reachable for comment.