"U.S. targets South Sudan oil firms with sanctions to choke off war funds"

The United States...[has]imposed sanctions on 15 South Sudanese oil operators that it said were important sources of cash for the government, an action aimed at increasing pressure on President Salva Kiir to end the country’s conflict and humanitarian crisis. The companies and government bodies would in future require special licenses to do business in the United States, the State Department said. “The South Sudanese Government, and corrupt official actors, use this revenue to purchase weapons and fund irregular militias that undermine the peace, security, and stability of South Sudan,” the department said in a statement. The groups on the list “are involved in activities that are contrary to the foreign policy interests of the United States,” according to a related Department of Commerce document published on Wednesday....

The list includes Dar Petroleum Operating Company, an oil and gas consortium led by China National Petroleum Corp and Malaysia’s state-run oil and gas firm Petronas, the two largest oil firms operating in South Sudan. The restrictions also cover oil distributor Nyakek and Sons; Greater Pioneer Operating; Juba Petrotech Technical Services; Nigeria’s Oranto Petroleum, and Sudd Petroleum Operating. South Sudan has been wrecked by civil war since 2013 when troops loyal to Kiir clashed with those loyal to then-Vice President Riek Machar. Since then, the conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives, slashed oil production and driven about a third of the population of 12 million from their homes.