South Sudan’s oil minister Stephen Dhieu Dau says that oil-production continues despite the violence sweeping through the country.
Dau confirms the number of workers at oil fields in Unity and Upper Nile states has been reduced but insisted Unity State is the only affected area.
"Oil continues to flow normally in Upper Nile state. There is no problem there. It is only in Unity state where there are some issues but it has not stopped flowing. We only reduced the number of workers in Unity state to minimal level because of security reasons", says Dau.
Dau did not comment on whether the reduction in workforce would affect normal production levels and the amount of oil that is exported to international markets through neighbouring Sudan.
An official at the ministry of petroleum and mining says that as well as all foreign staff; workers from the Dinka ethnic group and others who asked to leave have been removed from Unity state.
Clashes between oil workers from rival clans at the Unity and Tharjath oil fields last week killed 16 people with over 200 people forced to seek refuge in the UN compound in Bentiu town.
Oil company employees from the Nuer ethnic group attacked their Dinka colleagues - reportedly using spears, sticks and knives - as revenge for the alleged targeting of Nuer civilians in Juba since in the fighting broke out a week ago.
The ministry official says the ministry was forced to scale-down operations because the current unrest in the country had taken on an "ethnic dimension", between Nuer and Dinka after the clashes between the Presidential Guard began in Juba over a week ago.
"The ministry was forced to take these measures because you may have heard what happened last week in Tharjath between the workers themselves and the events in Parieng and Bentiu respectively. Workers turned against their own colleagues and killed. The same way soldiers did in Parieng Bentiu. “
The ministry source said he could not provide the total number of workers the ministry had approved to remain at the oil fields or the numbers that have been removed as they were still assembling details from the oil companies working in the Unity and Upper Nile state.