South Sudan Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth said an unknown quantity of oil had failed to be lifted in the Red Sea city, where landlocked South Sudan's oil is transferred from a pipeline to oil tankers.

He said Petroleum Minister Ezekiel Lol will travel to Khartoum to discuss the flow of South Sudan oil with the military Transitional Military Council, which deposed President Omar al-Bashir two weeks ago.

"Certain chemicals used for processing the oil in South Sudan, which are supposed to be imported from Port Sudan, are stranded because the staff of the oil companies have also joined the strike and nobody is doing the job over there."

The minister said South Sudan's current oil production at present is 135,000 barrels per day.