South Sudan’s oil exports steady despite fighting in Sudan

South Sudan’s oil production is flowing as normal despite heavy fighting in Sudan, where the crude is exported, according to a government minister.

Clashes that first broke out in Sudan on April 15 have persisted amid efforts to negotiate a truce. South Sudan, which became independent from its northern neighbor in 2011, relies on pipelines that traverse Sudan to transport crude more than 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) from its fields to tankers in the Red Sea. 

South Sudan’s Oil Minister Puot Kang Chol said oil facilities, including pipelines, pump stations, field processing facilities, field surface facilities and the export marine terminal in Sudan, are well protected and safe from any damage. Production has been steady at 169,141 barrels a day and contingency plans are in place to maintain it, he told reporters in Juba, the capital.

The conflict has slowed supply chains flowing south, according to the minister. That’s “mildly affected” the delivery of equipment and critical materials to the oil fields, and plans are being formulated to use safer alternative routes.