Minister of Petroleum Puot Kang Chol speaks at the 6th South Sudan Oil & Power Conference in Juba. Thursday, June 15, 2023. | Photo: Lou Nelson/Eye Radio

The Minister of Petroleum is appealing to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries not to cut production of South Sudan’s oil production in the international market.

Puot Kang Chol told delegates at the 6th South Sudan Oil and Power Conference that he has received a notice from OPEC requesting the government to reduce the number of barrels produced per day.

OPEC+, which comprises OPEC, Russia and other allies, has been taking more steps to support the oil market in 2023 by announcing several oil production cut by member states.

On June 4, the group announced its second package of output cuts since April and Saudi Arabia pledged a voluntary cut for July.

But Minister Kang argues that the capacity produced by South Sudan is the lowest among the countries, and that if reduced, the country will suffer the impact of the already existing energy crisis in the country.

“I will be going to Vienna and we are being told you cut your production. If we cut our production, it means we will not buy fuel we are sitting in this room with the power that you see we are running generators,” Kang said at the conference.

“So without producing, we will not have power now. This is the message that the country you have come to needs so much for it to survive,” the minister told an OPEC representative at the conference.

Instead, Minister Kang appealed to the OPEC countries to allow South Sudan to produce at least a million barrels a day for it to cater for the developmental needs.

“When you are going back, I would like to request from you to report to the Secretary-General and report to our chairman of OPEC that the situation I found there instead of Saudi producing 12 million, let them give us a million that will be enough for us.”

South Sudan is a member of OPEC Plus, an ally of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries

In September last year, First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar told delegates to the 5^th South Sudan Oil and Power Conference that the country may likely quit the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries if it order production cut.

South Sudan increased its oil production from 184,000 barrels per day in 2015 to 170,000 barrels per day in 2020.