South Sudan says pipeline may be closed

Juba: South Sudan said on Friday that a pipeline to north Sudan carrying its crude oil exports may have to shut down within two days because Khartoum was blocking oil shipments.

Sudan itself accused the landlocked South of being responsible for shipment delays because it had failed to pay duties for two ships held at the Red Sea port of Port Sudan. Its exports mainly go to China and other Asian countries.

Six months after landlocked South Sudan seceded from Sudan, the two countries have failed to agree on how much Juba should pay Khartoum in fees to transport its production of 350,000 barrels per day to port.

South Sudan's minister of petroleum and mining, Stephen Dhieu Dau, said the pipeline may be shut down due to what he called Sudan's blockade of southern oil exports.

"They are holding the oil. The companies are warning all the partners, including the government of Sudan and our government and all stakeholders, that within two days, there will not be space for storage," he told reporters.