To bolster its midstream capacity, South Sudan is seeking to construct new pipeline infrastructure, fuel product storage tanks and crude oil storage facilities to facilitate oil exports and reduce dependence on neighboring Sudan. The country has ambitious plans to increase current oil production to 230,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the short term and 450,000 bpd in the long term.

South Sudan’s official energy event – the South Sudan Oil & Power (SSOP) 2024 conference and exhibition – invites investors to explore and engage with opportunities across the country’s midstream sector, leveraging its immense oil resources to drive industrialization, socioeconomic development and economic diversification.

Current Pipeline Infrastructure

The primary pipeline carrying oil from South Sudan through Sudan for export – the PetroDar pipeline – has been hampered by stoppages since February. The PetroDar pipeline transports approximately 100,000 bpd of South Sudan’s heavy sweet Dar Blend crude oil from Blocks 3E and 7E in the Palogue and Adar Yale oil fields in the Melut Basin, to the Bashayer Marine Terminal in Port Sudan on Sudan’s Red Sea coast. The pipeline, which stretches more than 1,500 km, is controlled by the Dar Petroleum Operating Company and serves as an important source of revenue for South Sudan.

Despite having several heating units to facilitate the transport of heavy crude oil, gelling issues – the solidifying of crude – in the PetroDar pipeline has resulted in blockages. This also comes as a result of a lack of diesel used to dilute the Dar Blend to help it flow. As a result, South Sudan’s current pipeline infrastructure presents opportunities for engineers and service companies to repair and maximize pipeline capacity. Last February, crude production from South Sudan was reported at 150,000 bpd, while stoppages in the pipeline have limited production to around 80,000 bpd as of March 2024.

Another pipeline – South Sudan’s Greater Nile Oil Pipeline – carries oil from Blocks 1 and 5A in the Thar Jath and Mala oil fields to the Bashayer terminal for export and to two refineries in the Sudanese cities of El-Obeid and Khartoum, where it is refined and distributed to the domestic market. With a capacity of 250,000 bpd, the 1,600-km Greater Nile Oil Pipeline is operated by China National Petroleum Corporation and owned by the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company.

Midstream Sector Expansion

Currently, South Sudan does not have any significant storage capacity for refined products, relying via pipeline on its northern neighbor for all crude exports. As such, Nile Services and Logistics Company (Nile SLC) – a subsidiary of national oil company Nilepet – signed a Memorandum of Understanding last December with Zenith Energy. The collaboration focuses on jointly pursuing opportunities related to the construction of fuel product storage tanks, pipeline and crude oil storage facilities in South Sudan. Zenith Energy will contribute technical, financial and managerial expertise, while Nile SLC will help identify new business opportunities. The partnership reflects a commitment to enhancing South Sudan’s energy security infrastructure and strengthening its midstream operations.

South Sudan – endowed with 3.5 billion barrels of proven crude resources – presents a compelling landscape for investors to participate in its midstream expansion. As the nation seeks to harness its full energy potential, strategic investments in new and existing pipeline infrastructure, fuel product storage tanks and crude oil storage facilities are pivotal to unlocking production and driving associated development. Opportunities in the sector will be on display at this year’s SSOP conference, which aims to catalyze financing for energy projects across the country, with an emphasis on private sector participation.