NAIROBI, April 30 (Reuters) - South Sudan's government said on Thursday that it had decided not to renew Nigerian company Oranto Petroleum's Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement for Block B3.
o In a statement, the East African country's petroleum ministry said a review of Oranto's performance over the six-year contract period found it had not met obligations like the completion of required seismic surveys and drilling commitments.
o Oranto did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
o The South Sudanese ministry said it had concluded that the non-renewal of the Block B3 licence is "in the best interest of the country".
o "Block B3 is now open for new applications, and the Ministry of Petroleum welcomes interest from ... qualified international and regional oil and gas companies," its statement added.
o The oil sector is one of South Sudan's main sources of revenue.
(Reporting by Vincent Mumo Nzilani;Additional reporting by Isaac Anyaogu;Editing by Alexander Winning)
