JUBA, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan's Ministry of Petroleum said on Thursday that it will soon start processing 7,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) in its newly renovated Tharjath refinery located in the northern Unity state.
Awow Daniel Chuang, undersecretary in the ministry of petroleum said the refinery which had been under renovation after being destroyed during years of conflict will start processing refined oil in March.
"The oil (Tharjath) refinery which has the capacity of processing up to 7,000 barrels per day is expected to be operational by next month," Chuang told journalists in Juba.
He disclosed that they plan to increase oil production from the current 170,000 bpd to 190,000 bpd by the end of 2021.
"The current oil production is 170,000 barrels and we want to push it to 190,000 bpd. We want to increase the production by 20,000 bpd possibly by the end of this year," said Chuang.
South Sudan, which depends 98 percent on oil revenue to finance its annual fiscal expenditure, is currently struggling to stabilize its economy, amid hyperinflation caused by years of conflict and drop in global oil prices.
The youngest nation descended into conflict in December 2013 that reduced its oil production to below 130,000 bpd. Enditem
