South Sudan will close all wells at the Unity state following a row with Sudan over claims of supporting rebels, its oil minister said today.
The nation started shutting down its output after Sudan said it would close two cross-border oil pipelines within 60 days unless South Sudan gave up support for Sudanese rebels.
South Sudan denies the allegations.
The shut-down operation has already started on the country’s main Palouge field in blocks 3 and 7, with the shut-down of smaller blocks 1, 2, 4 and 5a planned for Thursday.
This is a second time this year the nation is forced to close its wells, following a pipeline fee disagreement with Sudan in January 2012.
According to most recent figures, production at the Unity state did not exceed 180,000 barrels a day, nearly half of its production from the start of the year.
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