South Sudan and Egypt sign historic oil and energy co-operation agreement

[Juba, South Sudan, TCT, Francis Mading] South Sudan has signed a partnership with Egypt on oil and energy at the ongoing oil and gas forum in Juba.The agreement will allow Egypt to invest in the oil field in the coming period in the operations of oil exploration and extraction, in addition to allowing Egyptian companies in the fields of technology and oil extraction equipment to operate in South Sudan.

As a sign of South Sudan's growing attractiveness as an investment destination, the SSOP 2019 hosted delegations and officials from Kenya, Ethiopia, Egypt, Somalia, Norway, the United States and South Africa.

During the opening speech, South Sudan's Minister of Petroleum, Daniel Awuou Chuang, expressed the country's vision in the oil and gas sector, amid the increase in production volumes.

"We hope to reach 250,000 barrels per day in the near future," Chuang said. "We have succeeded in reaching our targets thanks to the intensive support of our partners and neighboring countries."

Minister Chuang stressed the importance of cooperating with Sudan, with which a historic peace agreement was signed last September.

Several initiatives were highlighted by Minister Chuang and H.E the First Vice President of South Sudan, Taban Deng Gai, demonstrating the country's efforts to significantly increase oil production.

Last week, Sudd Petroleum Operations announced that it would resume oil production at the end of the year with a capacity of 80,000 barrels per day, as oil fields have been closed since 2016.

The South African Strategic Fuel Fund, which signed an exploration and production agreement in May 2019, announced that it would launch an aerial survey of the B2 block in December.

The SSOP 2019 South Sudan Oil Conference witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Government of South Sudan and the Egyptian National Oil Company (EGPC) on regional cooperation in the field of oil and gas, and comes just a few weeks after the Egyptian

President El-Sisi invited Egyptian exploration and production companies to increase participation in African countries He urged service companies to invest in South Sudan.

Egypt enjoyed strong participation in this event, with many companies and delegations including EGPC, Petrojet, Petrogas, Khorayef, Drexel Oilfield Equipment and others attending.

South Sudan announced that it will launch its first ever licensing round in the first quarter of 2020, where it will establish 13 oil boxes for the tender. Many international exploration and production companies have shown interest in the potential of oil and gas in South Sudan.