South Africa’s state-owned petroleum company the Strategic Fuel Fund (SFF) yesterday met officially with South Sudan’s national oil company Nilepet in Juba, as South African President Cyril Ramaphosa continued his state visit to the country.

SFF, which is the operator of Block B2 in South Sudan and partner of Nilepet in the Nile Orange joint venture, has begun its oil and gas exploration campaign in Jonglei state and finished its initial aerial survey last month. In the meeting, the companies provided updates on activities required to continue work to the next phases.

Over the next six months, an environmental impact assessment will be undertaken. A site visit begins today in Bor, capital of Jonglei.

The leader of the South African delegation, KB Trivedi, said, “We have successfully completed the geophysical survey of the block in March. This is the largest survey ever undertaken in South Sudan, at 47,000 square kilometers, and the data acquired is very good. It was done by the South Sudan Geophysical Company, SSGC, which is a matter of pride for South Sudan, and a matter of pride for us as a partner of the country.”

Trivedi also briefed the group on the ongoing merger of three state companies, PetroSA, iGas and SFF, into the new South African National Petroleum Company (SANPC). SFF CEO Godfrey Moagi has been appointed Interim CEO of SANPC. He added that in addition to petroleum projects in South Sudan, mining would be a very important part of the future bilateral engagement.

Nilepet Managing Director Bernard Makeny expressed his confidence in the partnership and the support of Nilepet for the continuing work, calling attention in particular to the importance of the environmental impact assessment. He reiterated the importance of the mining sector to Nilepet, noting that the company has already opened a subsidiary in this sector.

Nilepet and SFF will be participating in the South Sudan Oil & Power 2024 conference – which is organized by Energy Capital & Power - on June 25-28 in Juba, including the first ever South Sudan Mining Forum. This is the official energy and mining investment platform for the country, now in its seventh edition.