The oilfields and assets left behind by the Malaysian oil corporation PETRONAS have been taken over by the South Sudanese oil business, Nelepet.
Following its announcement that it will be leaving the East African country after 14 years of activity in the energy sector, the Malaysian conglomerate took this decision. Leading officials from South Sudan’s Ministry of Petroleum, representatives from interested parties, and the chairman of the board of directors attended a high-level meeting in Juba on Monday that was presided over by President Salva Kiir.
The meeting included the removal of PETRONAS from the nation’s energy sector, according to a report by the state-run South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC).
According to a statement, the president was presented with the results and suggestions of a technical committee, which led to the strategic choice that was reached.
All of PETRONAS’s assets and shares will be transferred to Nilepet, according to a previous announcement made by Bangasi Joseph Bakosoro, the former minister of presidential affairs. He went on to say that the government would notify the Malaysian oil company in writing of its acceptance of PETRONAS’ withdrawal.
Concurrently, Nilepet would take over all of PETRONAS’s obligations, according to confirmation from Chol Thon Abel, Undersecretary in the Ministry of Petroleum.He went on to say that in order to guarantee the smooth continuation of business activities in the oil area, Nilepet would aggressively pursue agreements with other foreign businesses.
The Undersecretary made it clear that PETRONAS, not its parent company PETRONAS International Limited, was the primary target of government involvement.He emphasized that this differentiation draws attention to the subsidiary’s engagement in the oil industry in South Sudan.Sudan is the source of South Sudan’s oil exports, having declared its independence from the former in 2011.