Trading house BB Energy has taken South Sudan to court in London, alleging the government failed to supply crude pledged under an oil-for-cash agreement, according to filings and a company spokesperson.
BB Energy DMCC lodged the claim last month. “They have defaulted on delivery,” the spokesperson said, adding the firm was serving formal proceedings but remained open to an “amicable solution” given its long-term interests.
Juba did not immediately comment.
The case follows a similar London filing by Vitol in May over a cancelled cargo — a dispute the trader says is now settled, sources told Reuters.
South Sudan, one of the world’s poorest nations after two civil wars in 15 years, is burdened by rising debt and a fragile peace. In March, authorities placed the petroleum minister and other officials under house arrest.
In May, a London court ordered the country to pay Afreximbank $657 million over defaulted loans. The IMF put total public debt at $3.7 billion in 2023, including $550 million owed to oil companies.
Output, once 350,000–400,000 barrels per day before war, slid to 72,000 bpd last year after pipeline damage halted exports, OPEC data show. Flows resumed in June, lifting production to 138,000 bpd that month.
