DAKAR, July 8 – South Sudan has agreed to ease restrictions on advance payments for its crude oil after commodities trader BB Energy was awarded three oil cargoes under an agreement reached at London’s High Court.
The deal gives BB Energy three 600,000-barrel cargoes, two of Dar Blend crude scheduled for August and November, and one Nile Blend cargo for September. In return, the company agreed to relax an existing court injunction that had stopped South Sudan from accepting new advance payments for crude oil shipments.
Under the agreement, South Sudan can receive prepayments for Dar Blend and Nile Blend cargoes, provided they do not include the cargoes allocated to BB Energy and those shipments are delivered as agreed. The arrangement will remain in place until the end of November.
The High Court had ruled in May that South Sudan could not enter into new prepayment contracts for Dar Blend or Nile Blend crude until it settled outstanding obligations to BB Energy, pending further court proceedings.
BB Energy said the three cargoes will help reduce the amount still owed under an earlier prepayment agreement. However, the company did not disclose the outstanding value of the debt or the volume of oil involved.
According to the company, it loaded its first cargo under the 2025 prepayment contract in February.
BB Energy also said the latest agreement followed discussions involving the Republic of South Sudan and other market participants, bringing progress in a legal dispute over claims that the country failed to deliver crude oil that had already been prepaid for.
