Sudan Approves Oil Deal with South Sudan

Sudan Approves Oil Deal with South Sudan

 Sudan's parliament has voted to approve an agreement with South Sudan designed to end hostilities¹ and restart southern oil exports through the north.

The vote Wednesday comes a day after South Sudan's parliament also approved the deal, which was signed by the two countries' presidents last month in Ethiopia.

Sudan's parliament speaker Ahmed Ibrahim al-Taher said all but two of the lawmakers present voted in favor of the agreement.

The agreement will establish a set of fees for South Sudan using Sudanese oil pipelines², and set up a 10-kilometer demilitarized border zone from which both countries' armies must withdraw.

The deal also provides Khartoum with about $3 billion in compensation for South Sudan's secession.

The two Sudans have yet to decide who will control some border areas, including the oil-producing Abyei region.

The countries nearly went to war in April after South Sudanese forces occupied an oilfield near the border.

Three months earlier, South Sudan halted oil production to protest high fees levied³ by Sudan for use of their oil facilities.  

The shutdown dealt a severe blow to both countries' economies. Oil revenues account for more than 90 percent of revenues for South Sudan's government.

1 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

2 pipelines   

管道( pipeline的名词复数 )； 输油管道； 在考虑（或规划、准备） 中； 在酿中

参考例句：

• The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
• The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。

3 levied   

征（兵）( levy的过去式和过去分词 )； 索取； 发动（战争）； 征税

参考例句：

• Taxes should be levied more on the rich than on the poor. 向富人征收的税应该比穷人的多。
• Heavy fines were levied on motoring offenders. 违规驾车者会遭到重罚。