Oil remains source of conflict for the Sudans
Oil could bind the two Sudans together. For now, it remains another source of conflict between them
Oil lies at the heart of the relationship between Sudan and South Sudan. It was key to the two Sudanese civil wars, fought between 1952 and 2005. Access to oil fuelled and prolonged the conflicts. Oil was crucial to the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which ended the second civil war; the commodity is central to government budgets, north and south. Oil continues to bind the Sudans together. Since the south declared independence, the Sudanese have been locked in a struggle over oil. On independence day – 9 July 2011 – South Sudan gained 75% of Sudan’s total oil production; 350,000 barrels a day (b/d), worth $35 million to $40m daily. Sudan’s northern rump was left with output of 150
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