South Sudan’s Minister of Petroleum Hon. Puot Kang Chol has confirmed his participation at African Energy Week (AEW) in Cape Town on the 9th-12th of November 2021. Hon. Puot Chol joins multiple African petroleum ministers at AEW 2021, all focused on driving Africa’s energy success and establishing long-term partnerships with global actors. By participating at AEW 2021 in Cape Town, Hon. Puot Chol aims to position South Sudan as the top frontier market for African exploration, promoting the country’s abundant investment opportunities and driving associated development across the young nation.
Representing one of the fastest growing frontier markets in Africa, South Sudan holds significant opportunities for both regional and international investors. The country has the third-largest oil reserves in sub-Saharan Africa – measured at 3.5 billion barrels produced annually – and yet, 90% of reserves remain untapped. With a renewed peace agreement opening the country up for business, and the prioritization of exploration intended to offset declining reserves in maturing oilfields, South Sudan presents lucrative opportunities for oil majors and regional actors looking to cash into the unexploited market. Accordingly, the launch of the country’s first official 14-block licensing round this year, and the introduction of new production sharing agreements, has incentivized frontier exploration, establishing the country as a competitive destination for international investment. Hon. Puot Chol will promote these opportunities at AEW 2021 in Cape Town, offering international stakeholders a detailed overview of the emerging market and its vast opportunities.
Furthermore, Hon. Puot Chol has emphasized the need to ramp up production in South Sudan, and aims to leverage regional partnerships and exploration to do so. With collaborative targets with neighboring Sudan to increase production from the current capacity of 154,000 barrels per day (bpd) to an estimated 300,000 bpd, the country is focused on using exploration as a catalyst for wider sectoral growth, enhancing production and mitigating against declining reserves. The country has already made significant progress in accelerating production with the production resumption of the last joint operating company since the civil war. The resumption of South Sudan’s Block 5A – operated by Sudd Petroleum Operating Company – marks a significant moment for the country’s oil and gas sector and further demonstrates how political will and integration can drive progress.
Meanwhile, in addition to emerging exploration and production opportunities, Hon. Puot Chol will introduce investors to notable opportunities within the power and infrastructure sector, emphasizing the need for investment to help rehabilitate the country’s market. With a significant financial deficit in the country, and increasing electricity challenges hindering economic growth, South Sudan has redirected a focus on power generation, transmission and distribution, in the hopes of accelerating access to electricity and socio-economic growth. The country’s power sector remains heavily underdeveloped and has, therefore, warranted the prioritization of new power projects, all requiring investment. Notably, with a proposed national grid expansion, a newly built 100MW power plant, and a proposed solar power facility, the country is actively pursuing foreign investment to revitalize its power sector.
“With a renewed peace agreement in 2020 and having recently celebrated ten years of independence, South Sudan is positioning itself as the ideal destination for regional and international investment. The country represents significant opportunities within the oil and gas exploration and production market, as well as the power and infrastructure sector. By showcasing these opportunities at AEW 2021 in Cape Town, and incentivizing international participation in its sector, South Sudan is driving progress and reiterating the value of oil and gas in Africa’s energy future,” stated NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber.
By participating at AEW 2021 in Cape Town, and showcasing South Sudan to the world, Hon. Puot Chol is focused on revitalizing South Sudan, and will utilize AEW 2021’s networking platform to establish sustainable partnerships with global actors. South Sudan represents both a new and exciting oil and gas market and will emphasize proposed projects, emerging investment trends, and collaborative opportunities at AEW 2021.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.
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