Bullen Bol, head of south Sudan's state oil company Nile Petroleum Corporation (Nilepet), said White Nile of the UK and Moldova's Ascom Group, which had both signed concessions in 2005, would soon complete seismic surveys and begin drilling.
"They are about to complete work on the seismic and will soon start drilling," Bol said.
Oil, one of the reasons for the north-south civil war that claimed 2 million lives, remains a contentious issue two years after the January 2005 peace deal.
