Government starts mapping South Sudan’s minerals
By Kitab Unango
The Ministry of Petroleum said Wednesday that it would next week begin airborne gravity manegtic survey of hydrocarbons to map other South Sudan’s potential petroleum fields.
The survey which will be conducted by the Nile Orange Petroleum , a South African based company, will cover Jonglei State, some parts of Central, Eastern Equatoria and Lakes States.
The ministry says the exercise is expected to boost oil exploration and the country’s revenue.
The announcement came a day after the ministry of finance and planning tabled a resource envelope of more than SSP 1.8 trillions with about 30 per cent deficit with oil revenue projected to contribute 80 percent to fund the budget.
“Our intention is extract oil and if we do not open new blocks that is another way of reducing the oil”, said Mayen Wol, Undersecretary in the Ministry of Petroleum.
Mayen called on the citizens to çooperate with surveryers using sophisticated geophysical aircraft acquired by the government which will be hovoring over the surface at a very low altitude of about 300 meters above the sea level to collect data.
South Sudan currently produces about 170,000 barrels of crude oil a day amidst ongoing political turmoil in neighboring Sudan. Authorities have expressed concern that if the war continues it may affect South Sudan’s main income source, hence, exacerbating the current economic hardship.
