Monday, Apr 23, 2012
KAMPALA, Uganda (Dow Jones)--Sudan will seek compensation from South Sudan over destroyed facilities at an oil field along their disputed border after 10 days of fighting, a Sudanese official said Monday.
Sudan accuses South Sudan's troops of destroying the main pumping station at the 60,000-barrel-a-day oil field at the town of Heglig, stalling production, Sudanese government spokesman Rabie Abdelaty said.
"Most facilities have been destroyed beyond repair. We are still assessing the damage and obviously we shall seek compensation" he said.
Demands for compensation could worsen the conflict between the two countries, who have appeared near full-blown war in recent weeks. South Sudan split from Sudan less than a year ago following decades of war. In recent months the two countries have fought over how much landlocked South Sudan should pay Sudan to use its oil pipelines and export ports.
South Sudan halted oil shipments in January after accusing Sudan of stealing its oil meant for export.
South Sudan bowed to international pressure last week and announced a formal withdrawal of its forces from Heglig after 10 days of occupation. Sudan quickly declared that its troops had liberated the oil town, which houses a refinery, a processing plant and vast oil and gas fields.
The refinery's operating system software, the central processing facility and the main control plants were also damaged.
South Sudan blames Sudan for the damage and will not accept responsibility, South Sudan's army spokesman, Col. Philip Aguer, said.
"They made it a habit to bomb oil facilities every hour ever since our troops first occupied Heglig," he said. "Even when we announced plans to withdraw, they continued bombing."
-By Nicholas Bariyo, Dow Jones Newswires; 256-75 2624615; nicholas.bariyo@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
23-04-12 0559GMT
