South Sudan’s state-controlled Nile Petroleum Corporation (Nilepet) has started preparations to take over the management of some oilfields in the country by 2027, when it will let the contract with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) as operator expire, Nilepet’s managing director Chol Deng Thon Abel told Bloomberg in an interview published on Wednesday. CNPC leads one of the two main operating consortia in the country, Dar Petroleum Operating Company. The other members of the Dar Petroleum consortium – Malaysia’s Petronas, China’s Sinopec, and privately owned Tri-Ocean Energy – are also set to leave the blocks in 2027, Nilepet’s top executive told Bloomberg. The consortium operates in two blocks in the Upper Nile. South Sudan, reeling from years of civil war, the previous oil price crash, and the latest coronavirus crisis, now aims to boost the state’s participation in the oil industry as it needs more oil revenues. South Sudan […]