South Sudanese and Chinese official sources as well as informal contacts have confirmed that many foreign oil workers evacuated Upper Nile State earlier this week, contradicting claims by Petroleum Minister Stephen Dhieu Dau at a press conference yesterday that there was no evacuation.

CCTV English, a Chinese state-run broadcaster, reported today, “More than 400 Chinese oil workers have been evacuated from South Sudan due to growing violence... the Chinese embassies in Sudan and South Sudan as well as the Chinese oil company began to evacuate staff on Wednsday. The workers will be flown home in the coming days.”

Separately, an oil ministry official who asked not to be named told an international news organization that some workers were removed from the Paloich fields in Upper Nile state as a precautionary measure on Wednesday.

A third source, a minister in Upper Nile State's government, confirmed to Radio Tamazuj on Wednesday that some oil workers had evacuated by air via the Paloich airport.

Fourthly, informal contacts with employees at oil companies themselves in South Sudan confirmed that they evacuated the majority of foreign employees to Juba.

All of these source contradict Petroleum Minister Stephen Dhieu Dau who yesterday called a press conference to give an update on the situation in Upper Nile State. Referring to “security incidents around blocks 3 and 7,” he said that the incidents “did not affect the oil operations.”

“Therefore both the foreign and national oil workers continue to carry out their normal daily duties in the oil fields in blocks 3 and 7, Melut County,” said the minister.

He said that his ministry would like to reassure foreign oil partners and joint operating companies, in particular Dar Petroleum Operating Company, that the oil fields in Melut County were “safe and secured and the oil operation continues normally.”

During the question-and-answer session at the press conference, one of the minister's aides was heard whispering to him, “some foreign, non-essential staff” – a probable reference to the evacuated workers and a suggestion to the minister that he acknowledge that there was a partial evacuation.

The minister ignored this suggestion, however, denying outright that workers were evacuated and saying, “I want to assure you the oil field in Falluj is operating normally. No workers have been evacuated anywhere you will be on normal shift which is taking place. Beacuse in oil field there is a shift – people are coming and others are replaced.”  

File photo: Minister Stephen Dhieu Dau