On the 9^th of July 2011 the Republic of South Sudan gained legal sovereignty through independence. Scarcely six months later president Salva Kiir and the ruling Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM) announced on January 2012 their pursuit of an ambitious construction project to have their own oil pipeline from South Sudan to the Kenyan port of Lamu. This coupled with shutting down South Sudanese oil exports through Sudan’s pipelines to Port Sudan in the north, was a clear demonstration of the fledgling states desire and intention establish a firm political autonomy. These moves have ramifications for Africa’s newest nation, the political environment in Sudan, and will likely force regional and international actors with interests in the region, to consider the growing balance of power between South Sudan and Sudan.

The SPLM led government decided to keep the oil beneath the surface of their sovereign soil, until alternative transport and refining measures are ready, rather than risking that their oil revenue being siphoned off as a result of relying on Northern infrastructure. This follows longstanding negotiations about transit fees for usage of Sudanese facilities. In Juba the decision was met with demonstrations of support, and justifying rhetoric pointing to South Sudan long suffering history of suppression and other ordeals at the hands of the National Congress Party (NCP) led regime in Khartoum.

Written by Jens W Pedersen