Sudan, South Sudan oil talks fail
A south Sudan oil worker (file photo)
The leaders of Sudan and South Sudan have failed to agree on a deal to end an oil dispute during talks in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and his South Sudanese counterpart Salva Kiir once again voiced disagreement over the costs of oil shipments from South Sudan to Sudan.
Following the deadlock, South Sudan's top negotiator Pagan Amum announced that his country would shut down its oil facilities.
The Friday talks were held on the sidelines of a meeting of East African officials in Ethiopia.
Both countries have set forth widely differing figures as possible transit fees. While Sudan has offered USD 36 per barrel, South Sudan has proposed fees under USD 1 per barrel.
Sudan has confiscated USD 815 million from South's oil revenues, saying the country does not pay transit fees.
Moreover, Sudan has reportedly sold at least one cargo of the crude it has seized from South Sudan.
A historic peace agreement between Sudan and South Sudan signed in 2005 paved the way for an independence referendum in January 2011, in which southerners voted almost unanimously to secede.
South Sudan became independent on July 9 after decades of conflict with Sudan, which claimed the lives of 1.5 million people.
The new oil-rich nation is one of the least developed countries in the world, where one in every seven child dies before the age of five.
ASH/SZH/HGH
