South Sudan has expelled the Chinese head of the country's largest oil firm Petrodar on charges of colluding with former civil war foe Sudan to "steal" millions of barrels of its oil, a minister said Wednesday. "It is the first time in South Sudan's history to expel (someone)," Minister of Information Barnaba Marial Benjamin said after Chinese national Liu Yingcai was asked to leave the world's newest nation.
Benjamin said that the petroleum and mining ministry's decision to fire the head of the China-Malaysia-owned company followed an investigation into millions of barrels of oil that South Sudan claims Khartoum stole.
Last month Juba vowed to halt oil production of around 350,000 barrels per day until Sudan repaid 2.4 million barrels of southern crude it confiscated from pipelines running through the north to its Red Sea port. South Sudan split from the north last year but while it has most of the oil, Khartoum controls the pipeline and has access to the sea, sparking a furious argument and fears of renewed conflict. Juba has accused oil companies operating on its territory - who until last year had previously been working with officials in Khartoum - of underreporting the number of oil wells, and aiding the north's confiscation of crude.
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