South Sudan’s oil contracts ruling upheld

London’s High Court has upheld an injunction in favour of commodities trading house BB Energy to block South Sudan from making new prepayment contracts for oil cargoes, according to a document seen by Reuters. According to CNBC Africa, the order, dated 15 June but read down later in the week, upholds a ruling from May that South Sudan may not enter into any new prepayment contracts for Dar Blend or Nile Blend crude oil until it clears outstanding debts with BB Energy and pending further hearings. ‘BB Energy welcomes the High Court’s decision to continue the injunction preventing the Republic of South Sudan from accepting any further prepayments for crude oil and prohibiting third parties from facilitating such arrangements,’ a BB Energy spokesperson said. BB Energy also said that it had received irrevocable letters of award from the Government of South Sudan for two crude oil cargoes to be received before November. BB Energy last year began legal action through the London courts to challenge South Sudan’s alleged failure to deliver oil it purchased under prepayment deals in 2024 and 2025. It received its first cargo this February.

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