S.Sudan, Kenya agree to build oil pipeline

KHARTOUM Jan 25 (Reuters) - South Sudan has signed an agreement with Kenya to build a pipeline to connect its oil fields with the Kenyan port of Lamu, the Kenyan government said.

"The pipeline will be developed through Kenyan territory and will be built and owned by South Sudan," the Kenyan government said in a statement late on Tuesday, without giving a timeframe.

Landlocked South Sudan has been seeking to build a pipeline to Kenya to end dependency on Sudan through which Juba now needs to exports its crude via a pipeline to the Sudanese port of Port Sudan.

China is the biggest buyer of oil from Sudan and South Sudan, purchasing some 12.99 million barrels last year. That amounted to five percent of last year's crude imports by China, which is also the top investor in South Sudan's oilfields.

(Reporting by Nairobi newsroom, Ulf Laessing; editing by Jason Neely)