Kiir Says South Will Share Some Oil With North

25 June 2011

Khartoum — The president of the soon to secede South Sudan Salva Kiir said that the new nation has no intention of totally denying the North oil revenue that is produced in the landlocked region.

Speaking to reporters following his meeting with German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle, the Southern leader said that they do not intend to leave the North without support.

“We do not want to take all the oil revenues, we must leave something for the North to help them in facing the economic challenges,” Kiir said.

This week Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir threatened to turn off oil pipelines that transfer the crude from the South to Port Sudan.

“I give the south three alternatives for the oil….either the north continues getting its share, or we gets fees for every barrel that the south sends to Port Sudan,” Bashir told supporters at a rally in Port Sudan.

“If they [Southerners] don’t accept that, we’re going to shut down the pipeline,” he added.

Both sides have yet to agree on a new formula for sharing oil revenues to replace the 50-50 arrangement currently in place amid differing views on how it should be calculated.

North Sudan said that it stands to receive 36% less income as a result of losing control over the oil-fields in the South prompting Khartoum to craft measures to cushion the impact on the economy.

South Sudan will become an independent state next month after its citizens in favor of breaking away from the North.

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