The Sudanese government on Monday issued contradictory statements on whether it actually decided to stop South Sudan from exporting its oil through the pipelines that runs through the north into Port Sudan.

Sudan is demanding $15 billion in compensation for lost oil revenues after South Sudan’s independence and doesn’t want the African Union to mediate negotiations with the south, said Pagan Amum, South Sudan’s chief negotiator.

The South Sudanese government has seized what had been Sudan's share of the south's oil production and has decided to build a new pipeline that would not cross through Sudanese territory, the latest sign that the two former war foes are unlikely to resolve by negotiation the issues created when South Sudan became an independent country this summer.

South Sudan has proposed to offer north Sudan a "package" to resolve the deadlock in the ongoing post-independence negotiations on southern oil transportation, a senior member of the ruling party said.

A suspected Sudanese air strike on a refugee camp in South Sudan will not trigger a return to war but belligerent posturing on both sides will complicate and slow talks over oil transit fees and other sensitive disputes.

The Sudanese government blasted, on Thursday, November 17, what it claimed was a decision by South Sudan president Salva Kiir to confiscate shares of its state oil firm Sudapet.

The newly independent state of South Sudan managed to sell, via tender, a cargo of Nile Blend crude for December. It will load at the highest premium in at least four years and is fueled by fears of possible conflict with its northern neighbor.

There are indications that the governments of South Sudan and the Sudan will soon reach an agreement on a fee to be paid to the Sudan for transporting oil through its pipeline.

Contracts between China and South Sudan must be reviewed as the existing contract was signed when Sudan was still one country.

China is prepared to mediate between North and South Sudan in order to bridge difference in views regarding outstanding post-secession issues, the visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said.