Addis Ababa: South Sudan on Monday has offered to increase the
transit fees it would pay to Sudan to use its northern pipelines in an effort to resolve
the long-standing
standoff between the South Sudan and Sudan.
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| Oil-pipelines map of Sudan and South Sudan. Image©Google map |
The deal is considered as a tool that could restart
the south's oil industry and provide much needed money to both governments.
According to a set of proposals South Sudanese
negotiators submitted to African Union mediators in Addis Ababa, Juba is
offering Khartoum $7.26 per barrel to ship oil through an eastern pipeline to
Port Sudan, and to pay $9.10 for the use of a pipeline that runs further west.
The offer marks a significant potential
compromise for both sides. South Sudan had previously demanded transit fees
closer to $1 per barrel, while Sudan had demanded upwards of $36.
South Sudan shut down all oil production in
January after accusing Sudan of stealing southern oil from pipelines and Port
Sudan. Sudan said it confiscated the oil to make up for unpaid fees.
A U.N. Security Council resolution has reportedly
has ordered Sudan and South Sudan to reach agreement by August 2 on the issues
left unresolved from the South's separation last year.
South Sudan's proposal calls for the
establishment of several joint border teams that will work together to resolve
the final demarcation of the border.
It also recommends holding a referendum in the
Abyei region by November to let the people decide which country the
oil-producing region will belong to.
Negotiators from the two sides have been meeting
again in Ethiopia over the past few weeks, but tensions remain high.
South Sudan last week issued a complaint to the
AU mediating panel, accusing the Sudanese air force of bombing southern
territory. Sudan said it was pursuing Darfur rebels north of the border.