South Sudan offers to resume oil production

South Sudan in a release says it is offering to increase the transit fees it would pay to Sudan to use its pipelines as part of a deal that could restart the south’s oil industry and provide needed money to both governments. The deal was proposed by South Sudan Monday at talks in Ethiopia. The proposed deal focuses on peace and security measures as well as economic cooperation between the two nations. Sudan’s reaction to the offer wasn’t immediately known. After South Sudan broke away from Sudan last year, the south inherited about 75 percent of the formerly unified oil production. But the south’s oil must be pumped through Sudan’s pipelines, and the south in January shut down the oil after accusing Sudan of stealing some.