On 21 November 2018, South Sudan said Russia’s Gazprom Neft had signed a memorandum of understanding to explore four oil blocks in the country, marking another foreign entry into its troubled energy sector.
Petroleum Minister Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth told Reuters that the Russian company was still waiting for more details from the Petroleum Ministry before exploration could begin. Gazprom Neft did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The deal places Gazprom Neft alongside other foreign operators already active in South Sudan’s oil industry, including China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Malaysia’s Petronas and India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC Videsh).
Gatkuoth also said national crude output had risen to 135,000 barrels per day from 130,000 barrels per day in August. He said the government wanted production to return to 350,000 barrels per day, the level reached in 2011 when South Sudan became independent from Sudan before civil conflict cut output.
The minister’s comments came after a peace deal was signed in September between President Salva Kiir and rebels led by his former deputy Riek Machar.
