Sudan closes Heglig Oil Facilities after Drone Attack
According to a letter from the Sudanese government to their South Sudanese neighbor, the Sudan shut down the Heglig Oil Facility following drone attacks that it blamed the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
Heglig is located along the southern border of Sudan and houses the primary processing facility for South Sudanese crude oil. This accounts for most of the government revenue in South Sudan.
The outbreak of war in 2023 between the Sudanese Army and the RSF disrupted the flow from South Sudanese crude oil to Sudan. Before the conflict, Sudan received between 100,000 and 150.000 barrels of South Sudanese crude oil each day for export.
In a letter to South Sudanese officials, the Sudanese energy ministry cited drone strikes on August 26-30 as the reason for the shutdown.
The letter, dated 30 August, stated that "Such unprovoked assaults represent a serious risk to the stability and flow of oil from South Sudan. We cannot continue in good faith to staff the operation there."
Sudan has ordered the Sudanese firms operating in this area, 2B OPCO, and PETCO, to evacuate. PETCO said it would not be able meet its lifting schedule.
The letter stated that "their continued operation, despite the RSF's ongoing attacks will render them unusable in the long term."
Officials from South Sudan and the two companies were not immediately available for comment.
The RSF has not responded to any requests for comment. Khalid Abdelaziz is reporting, Nafisa Etahir is writing and Tomasz Jánowski is editing.
(source: Reuters)
