A/HRC/40/CRP.1 c) Main actors and locations At present, three main consortia of companies operate and manage oil production in South Sudan, all of them led by Chinese, Indian or Malaysian majority shareholders, with the South Sudanese company Nilepet owning a minority share. These joint ventures are listed below, with an explanation of which oil blocks (locations) they are exploring. Not all oil blocks located in South Sudan are operational, for various reasons, mainly related to security and outstanding renovations of facilities. 987 a. Dar Petroleum Operating Company (DPOC), established in 2012, is currently the largest oilproducing consortium in South Sudan, operating in Blocks 3C and 7 in former Upper Nile State (see Figure 5 below). The consortium is owned by the Chinese CNPC (Chinese National Petroleum Company, 41 percent), the Malaysian Petronas (40 percent), Nilepet (eight percent), Sinopet (a subsidiary of Nilepet, six percent) and the Kuwait/Egyptian Tri Ocean (four percent). The joint venture is exploring over 600 wells, producing 130,000 bpd (i.e. nearly all of South Sudan’s current output). 987 These fields produce the Dar blend oil, a heavier crude oil type, that requires special processing and transport conditions. 988 b. Greater Pioneer Operating Company (GPOC), similarly established in 2012, operates in Blocks 1, 2 and 4 (northern part of former Unity State, most of which is now Ruweng State), near the border with Sudan.989 The consortium is owned by CNPC (40 percent), Petronas (30 percent), Indian ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, 25 percent), and Nilepet (five percent).990 GPOC is conducting its operations through EPSA (Exploration and Production Sharing Agreements) apparently since September 2018. The consortium is producing just around 45,000 bpd,991 as oil production is only gradually starting up again since August 2018, after having been halted in 2014, as a result of the fighting which destroyed much of the company’s facilities.992 On 2 January 2019, the company restarted production at five of the 16 oil wells at Unity oilfield, in the north of Rubkona County in Block 1.993 c. Sudd Petroleum Operation Company (SPOC), owned jointly by Petronas (67.875 percent), ONGC (24.125 percent) and Nilepet (eight percent), has announced imminent exploitation of Block 5A in former Unity State (current Northern Liech State), measuring around 20,000 square kilometres. Block 5A has significant potential as it is believed to contain the bulk of the South Sudanese oil reserves (82 percent).994 There are two oil fields currently situated there, Thar Jath (with 37 wells and 40 oil gathering manifolds (OGM)) and Mala (with 38 wells and 60 OGM), which could potentially produce 80,000 bpd. The 75 oil wells in Mala and Thar Jath could reportedly produce 29,000 bpd initially, which could potentially expand to 80,000 bpd. Other potential oil fields in Mirmir and Jumaa are envisaged to be added increasing production further.995 The reactivation and security of the Thar Jath oil fields is a stated priority of the South Sudanese and Sudanese Governments, noted explicitly in the Khartoum Declaration of 27 June 2018, a precursor to the R-ARCSS of September 2018.996 There was some oil production at Thar Jath between 2006 and 2012, peaking at 27,000 bpd and at the lowest rate of 15-17,000 bpd. In April 2013, SPOC reactivated Thar Jath oil fields, Africa Oil & Power Conference, Juba, November 2018 and DPOC presentation at the conference retrieved at: https://africaoilandpower.com/2018/11/26/south-sudan-oil-power-2018-presentations/. 988 James, Laura M., (2015) “Fields of Control: Oil and (In)security in Sudan and South Sudan”, Small Arms Survey, Human Security Baseline Assessment for South Sudan and Sudan, Working Paper 40, p. 27; Patey, L. (2014) The New Kings of Crude, China, India and the Global Struggle for Oil in Sudan and South Sudan, p. 245. 989 Africa Oil & Power Conference, Juba, November 2018 and GPOC presentation at the conference, retrieved at https://africaoilandpower.com/2018/11/26/south-sudan-oil-power-2018-presentations/. 990 GPOC presentation, retrieved at the Oil & Power Conference 2018, retrieved at https://africaoilandpower.com/2018/11/26/southsudan-oil-power-2018-presentations/. 991 Presentation of South Sudanese Minister of Petroleum, Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth, Africa Oil & Power Conference, Juba, November 2018. 992 Hiba Morgan, “South Sudan holds oil conference to boost industry, Al Jazeera, 21 November 2018. 993 Nyamilepedia, “Oil Production Resumes in Rubkona’s Unity Oilfields”, 2 January 2019; GPOC presentation at Oil & Power Conference, Juba, November 2018, retrieved at https://africaoilandpower.com/2018/11/26/south-sudan-oil-power-2018presentations/https://africaoilandpower.com/2018/11/26/south-sudan-oil-power-2018-presentations/. 994 Africa Oil & Power Conference, November 2018, SPOC presentation. 995 Africa Oil & Power Conference, Juba, November 2018 and SPOC presentation at the conference, retrieved at https://africaoilandpower.com/2018/11/26/south-sudan-oil-power-2018-presentations/. 996 Khartoum Declaration of Agreement of the Conflict of Parties of the Conflict of South Sudan, para. 5; Øystein H. Rolandsen and Nicki Kindersley, “South Sudan: A Political Economy Analysis”, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, 2017, p. 21. 128