Mamer Abraham
Africa-Press – South-Sudan. An economist urged the government to consider increasing the storage capacity of the refinery in Bentiu, Unity State, to save the country from high fuel prices.
Morris Madut, who is the head of the department of economics at the University of Juba, argued the move would help the country refine oil for local consumption and supply its neighbours to generate income.
“Instead of us importing refined oil from abroad, we have enough capacity to be able to refine oil here and even supply our neighbours,” he said.
According to the economist, the refinery in Bentiu can produce 15,000 barrels per day, which would be enough to sustain local demand.
“There is a refinery now that has the capacity to produce around 15,000 barrels of refined oil in Bentiu, but the storage capacity is not enough for the byproducts,” he explained.
“What do we need to do? It is to expand the storage capacity for byproducts and then improve the road infrastructure, and we will be able to produce for local consumption and even supply more to our neighbours.”
Last year, the First Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar Teny, urged investors to invest in the energy sector in South Sudan.
The country depends on the power generated by JEDCO to supply electricity to most parts of the city, but incurs high costs blamed on the fuel used by EZRA, the power generator.
In March 2023, the speaker of the national assembly, Jemma Nunu Kumba, said the high energy costs would reduce when Fulla Dam is constructed in Nimule.
The speaker said this after the parliament received a generator from Egypt as a donation due to high energy costs.
She added that the parliament would soon pass the budget for the Fulla Dam Project when the bill is received by the parliament.
“We are just waiting for the executive branch to table their provision for the implementation of the project. Once we see that it favours the citizens of South Sudan, we will not hesitate in passing those provisions,” Nunu said.
Source: The City Review
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