The Ministry of Petroleum in Sudan says there has not been any directive to close the oil pipeline from South Sudan’s Upper Nile fields, which runs north to Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

In a press statement, Minister of Petroleum Makkawi Mohamed Awad said his country remains committed to the oil agreement with South Sudan and described reports of production cuts as unfounded.

Stephen Dhieu Dau, the counterpart of Makkawi in South Sudan, likewise emphasized the oil fields in the country are ‘safe’, strongly denying reports of the approach of rebels on the oil-producing areas north of Malakal.

Last week the Upper Nile State government ordered operating companies to cease work at two production sites, partially shutting down the state’s production as foreign workers evacuated.

“The state government told companies to shut down production at the Gumri and Adar oil fields,” Upper Nile Mining and Petroleum Minister Francis Ayul told Bloomberg news in a report on Friday.

On Saturday, a presidency official in Juba asserted that the national government reversed this decision by state authorities.

"This one was just an irrational decision from the state authorities without consultation with the national government," South Sudan's Minister in the Office of the President Awan Guor told Reuters news agency.

File photo: Sudan's oil minister Makkawi Awad

Related: Two oil fields shut down in South Sudan amid fighting (21 Feb.)