Juba, April 1, 2019 (SSNA) — South Africa has confirmed that it is negotiating a deal that would allow Cape Town to build a $1 billion dollars oil refinery in South Sudan, saying negotiations are still in early stages.
South Africa’s Energy Minister, Jeff Radebe, has recently been criticized for what some South African government officials described as “secret deal” with the war-ravaged young nation. The minister has been lambasted for being not “open.” Radele further reveals that his government is also working on oil deals with Nigeria and Equatoria Guinea to reduce South African reliance on expensive oil prices.
South Sudan’s Petroleum Minister, Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth, said in November last year that South Africa will invest $1 billion in South Sudan’s oil sector and that Russia and Nigeria oil companies will also invest in oil related-projects.