South Sudan has sold its first oil this week,10 days after gaining independence and despite having yet to reach a deal with the north on the split of oil revenues.

Sudan’s oil revenues in the months of April and May 2011 exceeded one billion U.S. dollars.

This paper contributes to discussions about the role of Sudan‘s $35 billion in external debt obligations – both for a unified Sudan and a possible Southern secession. It examines Sudan‘s existing debt dynamics and the potential eligibility for traditional debt relief and multilateral debt relief initiatives. It also provides an indicative roadmap for clearing Sudan‘s loan arrears of $30 billion and potentially securing comprehensive debt relief in the future.

Sudan generated 357.36 million US dollars in oil revenues for the month of October 2010.

The Sudanese government said the North is expected to boost its production of oil to 200,000 barrels per day within 3-5 years. The North will boost production in Block 6 and says it made a 'significant' discovery in Block 7.

Minister of oil Lual Deng invited national oil companies to intensify oil production in block 6 to reach a total production of a million barrels per day in the future.

The Small Arms Survey published a map of the contested Abyei area and the locations of nearby oil fields, as an attachment to their web document on armed groups in Abyei and the Three Areas.

South Sudan said the central government had stopped paying its share of oil revenues in foreign currency, creating a foreign exchange crisis in the region ahead of a January vote on independence.

Presentation of Global Witness at a seminar in Khartoum on the importance of transparency in the oil sector.

Sudan expects to increase its oil production by up to one-third by next year, taking it to as high as 600,000 barrels per day.