Activist warns Sudan coup strains South Sudan’s crude exploitation

By Okech Francis

Political upheavals in Sudan do not spell well for South Sudan which relies on the northern neighbour for exploiting its crude oil, Edmund Yakani, the Executive Director of Community Empowerment for Progress Organisation, said.

Sudan is experiencing a coup led by the chairman of the sovereign council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, deposing the leadership of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.

“The political development in Sudan has a direct effect on South Sudan oil trading in terms of exporting it to the international market” leading to a drop in oil revenue, Yakani told Juba Echo in an emailed response to questions on Tuesday.

Yakani warned that it also slows down production as it creates shortages for materials used in the oilfields.

“The oilfield in South Sudan will face shortage of imports of materials to the oil production sites in South Sudan” and “this means there is a high chance in oil production if the situation in Sudan continues to be worse,” he said.