Business
South Sudan to resume oil output in December
“The Ministry of Petroleum and Mining expects production of Dar Blend to begin in December, with the first payments possibly received in January. Production of Nile Blend is not expected to resume before June of 2013,” Yol said.
It may take half a year before South Sudan is able to dispense with the austerity measures it took to survive the shutdown. The steps included heavy cuts to government spending.
The country is also trying to boost non-oil sources of revenues, such as taxation, and has been seeking loans to make up for lost revenues.
Yol said the government’s reserves were “greatly reduced” but that there was enough left to pay salaries for the rest of the year, helped by a large loan from the Bank of South Sudan.
He later told Reuters the loan amounted to about 1 billion South Sudanese pounds (US$ 200 million), leaving the government with a remaining deficit of about 2 billion pounds (US$ 400 million).
Yol said the government was also seeking foreign currency loans from “external sources” to develop infrastructure and provide services.
“These loans will all have a short maturity, as we will be able to pay them back quickly once we start receiving oil revenues,” he said.
