Press Statement: SPLM and SPLM-DC on the Oil Agreement
5 min readSPLM-DC Position splm dc position.pdf
More Facts Emerge About The Raw Deal on Oil
We issued a press statement on the 6th instant explaining that South Sudan got a raw deal from the agreement on the transport of its oil through Sudan, due to poor negotiation from our side. Since then more facts that consolidate our position have emerge from none other than the SPLM leaders themselves.
In a press conference held by the Chief Negotiator in Juba published by Sudan Tribune website on the 7th instant, he stated that the oil production will resume in September and that the rate will be 180,000 b/d rising to 190,000 b/d over several months. This will mean that our estimate in that press statement which was based on 200,000 b/d will go up.
The second to speak was the Vice President of the Republic, Dr Riek Machar, who said that Khartoum actually got $40 per barrel when it had asked for only $36 per barrel! See how generous our negotiating team was. This amount excludes the cost of cleanup and recovery of oil wells which experts estimate would cost not less than $20 billion. His remarks were reported by the Sudanese journalist, Alsir Sidahmed in the internet.
In the words of the Vice President of the Republic South Sudan has become “the biggest donor on earth to a single country, Sudan”.
We applaud the Vice President for his courage to speak out and call upon other government officials to follow suit in exposing the facts on the oil deal so that our public is informed about the extent of rip off our delegation in Addis Ababa landed South Sudan in. These are national issues which transcend party lines.
Department of Information,
SPLM-DC
Juba, South Sudan.
SPLM Position SOUTH SUDAN REACHES OIL DEAL WITH SUDAN: SECURES LOW PIPELINE FEES Press Statement Juba, 4 August 2012: The Government of the Republic of South Sudan has protected the interest of its people. Throughout the negotiations South Sudan insisted that its oil would not flow through the Republic of Sudan unless and until it was subject to fair commercial pipeline tariffs, processing and transit fees. Throughout the negotiations the Government of Sudan tried to extort South Sudan by attempting to charge exorbitant fees for the export of its oil. Sudan went as far as stealing South Sudan's oil in December, January and February. Your government responded with strength and resolve, and those responses have now paid off. At their most extreme, Sudan demanded South Sudan to pay $36 per barrel in combined fees. Your negotiation team, however, has secured a deal where South Sudan will pay on average $9.48 a barrel. To arrive at this deal South Sudan only had to make minor concessions. The Government of Sudan was demanding pipeline tariffs and terminal fees of $25, but under the deal RSS will be paying $8.4 and $6.5 for GNPOC and Petrodar respectively. This is only $1 more per barrel, than RSS had previously offered. Sudan demanded $6 in transit fees, but under the agreed upon deal RSS will only pays $1 per barrel in transit fees for both pipelines. The positions of Sudan and South Sudan, and the agreed deal are summarized in the following tables: PETRODAR Sudan position RSS position Agreed position Transportation tariffs Khartoum =$25.00 Juba = $5.50 Agreed deal= $6.50 Transit fees Khartoum=$6.00 Juba=$0.63 Agreed deal=$1.00 Processing Khartoum=$5.00 Juba=$1.07 Agreed=$1.60 Total Khartoum=$36.00 Juba=$7.20 Agreed deal=$9.10 Petrodar transports the oil from blocks 3 and 7, which produce around 80% of South Sudan’s oil. The RSS negotiation team strategically ensured that it obtained the lowest fees for this important pipeline of $9.10. GNPOC Sudan position RSS position Agreed deal Transportation tariffs Khartoum=$25.00 Juba=$7.40 Agreed deal=$8.40 Transit fees Khartoum=$6.00 Juba=$0.69 Agreed deal=$1.00 Processing Khartoum=$5.00 Juba=$1.07 Agreed deal=$1.60 Total Khartoum=$36.00 Juba=$9.16 Agreed deal=$11.00 What is more, these fees will only last for 3 1/2 years. At that time, if South Sudan still wishes to transport its oil through Sudan the parties may negotiate lower rates, but the fees cannot go up. However, South Sudan has already decided to construct an alternative pipeline, which will be up and running by then. In the interest of peace, South Sudan has offered $3.028 billion in direct transitional financial assistance (TFA) to Sudan over a period of 3 1/2 years. This is equivalent to 1/3 of Sudan's financial gap resulting from the loss of South Sudan's oil. This TFA is separate and apart from the Pipeline Transportation Fees. The agreement between the Parties makes this clear. This is a one off payment. South Sudan will pay this over 3 1/2 years, earlier if it chooses, and then the assistance ends. The burden of Sudan's financial difficulties will then rest solely on the Government of Sudan. This short-term assistance is part of a comprehensive package designed to ensure peace and security, respect for territorial integrity, and cooperation. This is a good deal for South Sudan. South Sudan's negotiating team will return soon to Ethiopia to finalize the details of this oil deal and conclude additional agreements addressing the outstanding security issues, disputed and claimed border areas, the final status of Abyei, and further matters related to nationality. The result will be a single comprehensive peace agreement that will ensure the mutual viability of both States. In doing so, South Sudan will finally be able to focus its attention and dedicate its full resources to establish our State institutions and build South Sudan into a free, peaceful, and prosperous nation for all. Pagan Amum RSS Chief Negotiator For all the latest news on the negotiations please visit the RSS negotiation team website: www.rssnegotiationteam.org
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