South Sudan oil exports unaffected by Sudan fighting

South Sudan's crude exports have not been affected by the ongoing fighting in neighbouring Sudan, according to a senior oil ministry official.

"The oil is moving and there has been no effect on exports so far," Awow Daniel Chuang told Argus.

Tensions over a planned transition to civilian rule in Sudan resulted in armed clashes erupting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a powerful independent paramilitary force, on 15 April. The UN estimates that at least 185 have been killed since the start of the fighting.

Sudan and South Sudan are both members of the Opec+ alliance, with their respective oil production concentrated along the border. But while Sudan has access to the Red Sea to export its crude, South Sudan is landlocked, which means it relies on its neighbour's Bashayer terminal, around 25km south of Port Sudan, to export its oil.

South Sudan pipes the bulk of its crude production ꟷ around 144,000 b/d in February according to latest petroleum ministry data ꟷ north to Sudan's Red Sea coast for export, with a portion of it going to Sudan's 100,000 b/d Khartoum refinery. It pays its neighbour around $25/bl in pipeline transit fees. Sudan produced 70,000 b/d of crude in March, according to Argus estimates.

Combined crude exports from Sudan and South Sudan have averaged 83,000 b/d so far this year, according to Vortexa data, down from 116,000 b/d last year. The last cargo to leave the Bashayer terminal was on board the Advantage Angel on 16 April, the day after the fighting began.

Sudan's limited domestic refining capacity means it is forced to rely on imports of oil products to meet its fuel needs. Vortexa data show Sudan has imported 23,700 b/d of gasoil and 5,700 b/d of gasoline this year, with around 67pc of this coming from the Middle East. It imported 25,800 b/d of gasoil and 4,400 b/d of gasoline last year, 79pc of which came from the Middle East. Sudan's product imports are also unaffected by the unrest, according to sources.

The fighting has mainly centred around the Sudanese capital Khartoum, but there have been reports of clashes in Omdurman, Bahri and the city of Port Sudan, with the latter temporarily falling under the control of the RSF in the early hours of the conflict. Sudan's army said on 16 April that it had driven the RSF out and retaken control of the key city.

Diplomatic efforts to persuade the warring sides to de-escalate have so far proved unsuccessful, with the two military generals at the heart of the conflict ꟷ General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, the head of the armed forces and Sudan's de-facto leader, and the RSF's General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo ꟷ continuing to trade barbs through the media.

By Aydin Calik and Nader Itayim