Sudan, South Sudan reach oil deal

Sudan and South Sudan have reached a badly needed oil deal and will discuss restarting oil production soon but still need to resolve key border security issues to end hostilities, a mediator from the African Union said on Saturday.There was no immediate confirmation from the African arch-foes, which came close to war in April when border fighting escalated to the worst violence since South Sudan split off a year ago under a 2005 agreement to end decades of civil war.If confirmed, an oil deal would mark a big step forward in ending a long list of conflicts left over from the duo’s messy divorce as oil is the lifeline for both.“It’s an (oil) agreement about all of the matters. The issues that were outstanding were charges for transportation, for processing, transit,” former South African President and AU mediator Thabo Mbeki told reporters.“What will remain (now)...is to then discuss the steps as to when the oil companies should be asked to prepare for the resumption of production and export,” Mbeki said in Addis Ababa where the talks take place.He gave no details or time frame.The neighbours, which share a deep mistrust and have often not implemented previous arrangements, will still have to resolve the thorny issue of marking their disputed border.Landlocked South Sudan threw both economies into turmoil when it shut down in January its output of 350,000 barrels a day after failing to agree on a transit fee with Sudan, which started seizing oil to compensate for what it called unpaid fees.