Mr. Taban arrived in Mayom County of Unity State in early May before touring other counties to mark his first visit to the state since being removed as governor in 2013.
His visit comes amid rising political and intercommunal tensions in the state. Unity State Governor Riek Bim said the presidency sent Gai to promote peace, assess infrastructure and attend centenary celebrations marking 100 years of Christianity in the state.
In a briefing to Kiir on Monday, Mr Gai said the Bentiu Refinery has resumed operation after going dormant for years.
“One positive thing that I found out is that the small refinery in Bentiu is working; it’s producing diesel. I even managed to fuel my convoy vehicles from that refinery,” Gai said in a post-meeting briefing to the media at State House.
“The fuel that brought us to Juba we took it from the refinery in Bentiu, which is a very good message to the people of Warrap, to the people of Northern Bahr el Ghazal, and Unity because those places are nearer to the refinery, even the people of Upper Nile can still take their fuel from those places,” he reiterated.
The Bentiu Refinery is situated in Unity State, approximately 5 km from the Unity Field Processing Facility, within oil blocks 1, 2, and 4 operated by the Greater Pioneer Operating Company (GPOC), a consortium including China’s National Petroleum Corporation, Malaysia’s Petronas, and India’s ONGC Videsh. It is a joint venture between South Sudan’s state-owned Nile Petroleum Corporation (Nilepet) and Russia’s Safinat Group, operating under the SNP Group.
The refinery is designed to process 10,000 barrels per day (bpd) but has operated at varying capacities, producing between 3,000 and 10,000 bpd depending on operational challenges. It primarily produces diesel, heavy fuel oil (HFO, also known as furnace oil), and asphalt, with plans to expand to petrol production. About 70% of its output is low-sulfur, high-quality fuel, which is rare and suitable for power generation and industrial use.
Built at a cost of $100 million, the refinery is a modular facility with three blocks, the first of which has a capacity of 5,000 bpd for diesel, HFO, and naphtha. It is one of five planned refineries in South Sudan, with a combined envisioned capacity of 127,000 bpd.
Statement released by the Office of the President also announced the resumption of work on the Juba-Yei-Kaya road, Juba-Rumbek-Wau road and the plan to supply the country with electricity from Uganda at a cost of $130 million payable to Kampala.
