Global oil traders are nervously watching a dragging dispute over compensation between Sudan and breakaway South Sudan, whose impact reaches beyond major buyer China, analysts say. The South announced last Sunday it had nearly completed a protest shutdown of its oil production - the fledgling nation's top revenue source - after talks in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa failed again to resolve a disagreement with Sudan over oil fees. Khartoum admits to confiscating 1.7 million barrels of South Sudanese crude since vowing in November to take 23 percent of southern oil exports as payment in kind during the fee dispute. The South calls this “theft.” Oil prices rose Friday after the government reported that the US economy added more jobs last month, which could drive up demand for fuel with more people heading back to work. Benchmark crude rose by 76 cents to $97.12 per barrel in morning trading in New York. Brent crude rose by $1.54 to $113.61 per barrel in London. Oil has slid from above $100 last week amid investor concern that rising US crude inventories reflect waning demand. “While demand has been dismal in Europe as the sovereign debt crisis worsened, demand for oil in the US has also surprised to the downside,” Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a report. “Despite the apparently better economic data, US oil consumption has been particularly hit by mild winter weather.” Capital Economics said it expects Brent to fall to $100 by the end of this quarter and to $75 by the end of next year. Analysts noted the widening gap between the Nymex and Brent contracts, currently almost $16 a barrel. “As a globally marketed oil type, Brent is benefiting more from the geopolitical uncertainty and the associated supply risks,” said a report from Commerzbank in Frankfurt. “In contrast ... Nymex is being depressed by the continuing supply surplus in the US market as reflected in a sharp increase in US stock levels.” While Juba's pre-shutdown daily output of about 350,000 barrels per day pales against Saudi Arabia's more than eight million barrels, analysts say it is not insignificant. “It's just another factor in the geopolitical risk that's causing the market to be nervous,” said Tony Nunan, energy risk manager at Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo. “The price of oil is determined by the marginal barrel, so it's important.” Analysts say the stoppage of oil from Sudan is particularly felt in Asia. China receives 67 percent of Sudan's crude shipments, accounting for five percent of the country's imports. Japan is also vulnerable as its demand for Sudan's medium-sweet crude, burned for power generation, has risen since last year because of nuclear power outages, Deutsche Bank said in a report Thursday. Malaysia, India and Indonesia are the other main buyers of Sudan's oil. “Asian buyers already scrambling to find alternatives to Iranian oil are now faced with the prospect of having to scramble for alternatives to Sudanese oil,” the report said. “More broadly, the loss of Sudanese crude oil further aggravates a global market already struggling to cope with multiple threats of supply disruptions in the face of low inventories and eroded OPEC spare capacity.” Neither Sudan nor South Sudan is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Analysts see the global market impact only worsening if the Sudan dispute is protracted. “With refiners concerned about the potential loss of Iranian crude volumes, the problems in Sudan have been cited as potentially leading to a tighter supply market in the second half of the year should the problem not be resolved,” said Tamsin Carlisle, senior editor in Dubai for energy market information provider Platts. After decades of civil war, the South split from Sudan in July and took with it three-quarters of the country's total oil production of 470,000 barrels per day. But landlocked and grossly underdeveloped South Sudan can only ship its oil through the north, leaving the neighbors disputing how much Juba should pay for sending its crude through the pipeline and Red Sea marine terminal. South Sudanese President Salva Kiir accused Khartoum of stealing $815 million worth of oil since December, largely by blocking four ships in Port Sudan and preventing four others from collecting their purchases. Last week he rejected a draft agreement which proposed the South give Khartoum $5.4 billion, to be paid by Sudan's taking 35,000 barrels of oil per day. Kiir said he could not sign a deal that did not address other unresolved issues as well as oil, because an incomplete agreement would guarantee future conflict. The crisis between the two nations has become a major threat to regional peace and security, United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon said. Because of the supply uncertainties buyers are shunning Sudanese Nile and Dar blends of crude, whose prices have fallen to their lowest levels in months, Platts said. Khartoum is offering the South Sudanese cargos at steep discounts from official prices.
