South Sudan opens 14 oil blocks... Sudan's civil war shakes up export routes

South Sudan has opened 14 oil exploration blocks in a licensing round aimed at expanding crude production, but its own petroleum ministry websites list conflicting first-round auction slates: the licensing-round page names A1, A4, B1, E2 and D1, while the exploration and production page lists A2, A5, B1, B4 and D2, so not all 14 blocks are in the first round and the two official lists do not match. The discrepancy matters because it creates uncertainty for bidders over which acreage is actually on offer. The country's crude exports also depend on pipelines and port facilities in neighboring Sudan, where civil war has disrupted the export route. Watch for the ministry to reconcile the block lists and for any resolution of the Sudan conflict that would secure South Sudan's export corridor.