جنوب السودان:اكملنا اغلاق ابار النفط بنجاح وننتظر حل يشمل الحدود وأبيي

By Hereward Holland
JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan has fully shut down oil output in a row with Sudan over export transit fees and will only restart after a broader deal on issues including border security and the disputed region of Abyei, its oil minister said on Sunday.

South Sudan took about three-quarters of Sudan's oil output when it seceded in July, but still needs pipelines running through its northern neighbour to export its crude. The two have not agreed on a transit fee.

The new nation said on January 20 it would shut down production after Khartoum started confiscating some oil in lieu of what it said were unpaid fees.

South Sudan's oil output -- which officials last put at about 350,000 barrels per day in November -- was completely shut down on Sunday, Minister of Petroleum and Mining Stephen Dhieu Dau told Reuters in Juba.

Oil is the lifeline of both countries' economies, accounting for about 98 percent of South Sudan, one of the world's poorest nations. China is the biggest buyer, getting about 5 percent of all its crude imports last year from Sudan, north and south.

The two countries' presidents met on the sidelines of a meeting of East African officials in Ethiopia on Friday, but failed to resolve their differences.
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