South Sudan Restores Oil Exports After Drone Attacks

(JUBA) – The Ministry of Petroleum has confirmed that South Sudan’s crude oil exports are now fully restored after two drone attacks disrupted operations at the Heglig and Al Jabalyn oil facilities earlier in the week.

The Ministry said the shutdown was temporary and that exports are again moving normally through the pipeline system to the Red Sea terminal in Sudan.

The first incident took place on 13 November at about 14:30 when a drone fired three missiles at the Heglig Central Processing Facility.

The missiles hit the workshop and laboratory and caused the death of one worker from 2B OPCO. Petrolines for Crude Oil Company then instructed Greater Pioneer Operating Company and Sudd Petroleum Operating Company to shut down all operations.

By 15:00, 2B OPCO announced force majeure and Pump Station One was taken offline as part of an emergency shutdown.

A second attack was reported on 15 November at the Al Jabalyn processing centre and its power plant. Bashayer Pipeline Company informed Dar Petroleum and activated its Emergency Control Centre. Staff were moved to safety and all systems were shut down at once.

The Ministry said it remains committed to keeping South Sudan’s oil infrastructure safe and stable, as the sector continues to be a major source of national income.

A joint technical team was deployed immediately after the attacks. This team included experts from South Sudan and Sudan, along with staff from Dar Petroleum, Greater Pioneer, Sudd Petroleum, Bashayer Pipeline, Petrolines for Crude Oil and 2B OPCO.

They carried out checks at the damaged sites and began repairs without delay.

The Ministry said the work moved quickly and production was able to restart on 16 November. The Heglig power plant and processing facility came back online, and Pump Station One resumed full operation.

Sudd Petroleum’s exports were not affected and continued to run at about 240,000 (two hundred and forty thousand) cubic metres.

All essential sites in Heglig and Al Jabalyn are now stable and working normally. Wells in Paloch that had been suspended have been restarted by field teams from the Ministry and Dar Petroleum. Oil fields in Paloch, Unity and Tharjiath have also returned to normal operation.

The Ministry said crude oil is again flowing at full levels through the export line leading to the Marine Terminal on the Red Sea. It thanked all technical teams involved for their fast work, which helped limit the economic impact on the country.

Oil Exports Resume Following Week of Disruption