New African oil producer South Sudan expects US$2.14 billion from the sale of crude since its independence in July, the petroleum ministry said on Wednesday.

South Sudan took 75 per cent of Sudan's oil production of 500,000 barrels a day when it became Africa's newest nation after an independence vote.

South Sudan has contracted the sale of 22 million barrels of crude oil for the July-October period to buyers in Asia and Europe, the ministry said in a statement. The oil is shipped through the northern Sudanese oil port of Port Sudan.

South Sudan needs to export its crude through Port Sudan because it has no sea access and owns no pipeline. It will have to pay Khartoum a pipeline transit fee over which both sides have reached no agreement yet. Analysts expect South Sudan to pay less than the 50-50 split agreed so far with Khartoum.