European Coalition for Oil in Sudan (ECOS)
Oil. Fuel for a better Sudan?
South Sudan president decrees northern oil workers should return despite Unity state clashes
South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit has issued a presidential degree asking Unity state governor Taban Deng Gai to allow northern Sudanese oil workers to return to work in state.
Northern oil workers were evacuated after militia under the control of Peter Gatdet Yaka clashed with the South Sudan army (SPLA) in Mayom county that has claimed the lives of over 35 civilians and soldiers since April 19. Gatdet announced his defection from the Southern military in March complaining of corruption and bad governance.
On Tuesday, Garang Ding Aguok, a government of South Sudan minister for energy and mining visited Unity state to investigate why the state governor decided to evacuate northern workers at such short notice.
Ding said that he found that the Unity state government had taken the decision in order to protect the safety of northerners within the state, as many civilians had been angered by the heavy loss of life in the Mayom clashes.
All the 130 workers have been returned to work according to local authorities.
The South Sudan government and army claim that Gatdet is backed by north Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party (NCP) in order to destabalise the oil-producing region. Khartoum has denied that it backs any of the seven rebel groups fighting the Juba government of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM).
Gatdet joined the SPLA in 2006 after a 2005 north-south peace deal made the former rebels the only legal armed force in the south, apart from joint units of the northern and southern armies, which will now be dissolved following the south’s vote for independence.
The Republic of South Sudan will come into being on July 9 following January’s plebiscite. Gatdet, who for much of the civil war he had fought against the SPLA while being backed by Khartoum, has declared that he intends to overthrow the southern government. According to UN figures over 800 people have been killed and over 90,000 displaced in fighting in South Sudan since January’s largely peaceful referendum.
Unity state governor Taban Deng Gai said the reason the 130 northerners workers had been evacuated from the oil field was to promote better security. Gai added that oil production continued at the normal rate despite the lack of engineers caused by the evacuation.
Of the engineers on site 28 were northern Sudanese, one was an expat and one southern Sudanese. While the northern workers were expelled, the expatriate staff demanded to be evacuated but were not after they received security guarantees, the governor said.
The Unity state governor said that for the last week oil production had continued with only the one southern Sudanese engineer at the oil production base in Manga.
Following an immediate evacuation of the oil workers on the 19 April after SPLA clashes with Gatdet’s militia - known as the South Sudan Liberation Army (SSLA) - about 300 northerner Sudanese are estimated to have left Unity state.
The Unity state governor said Tuesday that oil companies must recruit all drivers and cleaners from the area and not employ northern Sudanese to do these jobs as per an agreement between the state and companies.
Greater Nile Petroleum Operation Company (GNPOC) says it will send 25 Southern Sudanese employees abroad for training.