South Sudan’s state hydrocarbon company, Nile Petroleum Corporation (Nilepet), has set a target of 2022, to be a leading and competitive integrated oil and gas corporation of choice in South Sudan and beyond.
“We want to have our own block to operate”, says James Yugusuk, the company’s Director General for Downstream. “We want to raise world class South Sudanese technical staff and we want to construct four refineries: one in Bentiu, Paloch, Pagak and Thiangrial. All those are producing blocks. We also want to construct depots in major towns in South Sudan which is a very ambitious plan because we need to have strategic reserves. We want to extend our retail outlets to all the major towns in South Sudan. We want to have a very robust and highly effective JV and this is for companies and people who are willing to do that. We also want to have a strong footprint in the research and development programmes”.
Starting from 2013, Nilepet started participating in Joint Operating Companies in the country, holding stakes on behalf of the government in these JOCs through which it builds capacity of its staff. Between 2015 and 2018, Nilepet established joint ventures with oil service companies “and we continue to build the capacity of our national staff such that between 2022 and 2027, we’ll become a standalone operator, able to work up and develop hydrocarbon acreages by ourselves.
Nile Delta, for one, is a JV with 51% Nilepet and 49% held by Niger Delta Exploration and Production of Nigeria. “The mandate is to work on gas monetization and production optimization. This JV is also operating in the current producing blocks.
SIPET, for another, is an engineering and construction company which is 80% owned by Nilepet and 20% by QDC, a Chinese Engineering company. The areas of service are project management, consultancy, operation and maintenance. It is working on some of the country’s producing fields.
Nile Drilling is open to any international partner. “It is 90% Nilepet and 10% open to any willing investor”, Yugusuk explains. The specialization is drilling, and work over services.
“Nile Services and Logistic Company is 51% Nilepet and 49% from a local investment group and a South African company”, Yugusuk discloses. “It is into logistics and of course, it is still under development”. Another JV that we have is the Nile-Delta Systems which deals in ICT and it is currently operating and it is 51% Nilepet and 49% ASECCO Polland.
“We have SNP Group which is 30% Nilepet and 70% a Russian company called Sufinat it is working on the Bentiu refinery and it is currently operating. We have Dietsmann Nile S.A Ltd which is 31% Nilepet and 69% Dietsmann Technology which is an Italian company that deals on technology. It is operating.
“Again, we have NIYAT which is 40% Nilepet and 60% Eyat-Sudan. It specializes in road construction and maintenance”.