This paper is the product of joint research efforts of STPT and New Features Multimedia
The fiercest battles of the war that erupted in mid-April 2023 between Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and its creation, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been fought in the tripartite capital of Khartoum, and in the western regions of Darfur and Kordofan. Heavy artillery shelling amid the densely populated capital Sudan’s oil fields, pumping stations, and parts of the pipeline sending oil from South Sudan fell into the hands of the RSF early in the conflict, while the SAF maintained control over the export terminal in Port Sudan and parts of the pipeline in areas it controls.
For months, the belligerents appeared keen to spare oil infrastructure, perhaps because with vital parts of the infrastructure under the respective control of each party, both could only continue to profit if the system was left in place.
Nonetheless, this transactional arrangement did not last long and the SAF and RSF began attacking each other’s points of access to fuel to undermine the revenues and logistical advantage they could draw. RSF attacked and destroyed large fuel depots in the capital and other cities with airports that could serve as alternate military airports. Fighting in RSF areas led to serious breaches in the pipeline, causing large spills visible in satellite imagery. Damage was probably exacerbated by compounded decades of neglect in the maintenance of the oil infrastructure. Technical teams lack access to fix breaches and repair damage to pumping units. The combination of these factors led to the gradual disruption of the flow of oil, further accelerating the collapse of the Sudanese economy and severely damaging South Sudan’s as well. At the same time, it has created a new pillar of the war economy: the importation of oil. Controlled by a small group, this importation allows for vast profits in light of the need for oil while at the same time driving up prices with devastating consequences for other sectors, especially food.
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