South Sudan has deployed military forces to secure Sudan’s Heglig oil field, a critical processing facility for South Sudanese crude exports, as fighting between Sudan’s warring factions threatens the landlocked nation’s economic lifeline.
The deployment follows what South Sudan’s government describes as a tripartite agreement with both of Sudan’s civil war combatants—the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group. Under the arrangement, both Sudanese factions agreed to withdraw from Heglig, allowing South Sudanese troops to protect oil infrastructure while remaining neutral in Sudan’s internal conflict.
Gen. Paul Nang, South Sudan’s chief of defense forces, announced the deployment in a video address from Heglig, stating that South Sudanese forces would “completely neutralise” the oil field as a combat zone. The deployment is strictly limited to infrastructure protection, he said, with no participation in military operations inside Sudan.
Economic Stakes
The Heglig deployment underscores South Sudan’s acute vulnerability to disruptions in oil production, which accounts for 98% of government revenue. The country’s 2024-25 budget projects $1.4 billion to $1.6 billion in spending, with oil revenue providing the largest share of funding.
Before Sudan’s civil war erupted in April 2023, Heglig processed approximately 65,000 barrels per day of South Sudanese crude. Production has since collapsed to roughly 20,000 barrels per day—a 70% decline—due to fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces.
Sudan previously earned approximately $146 million per month in transit and processing fees from South Sudanese crude passing through its pipelines to Port Sudan on the Red Sea. That figure has potentially dropped to $48 million or less due to pipeline damage and production disruptions.
South Sudan’s economy contracted an estimated 24.5% in 2024 due to oil disruptions, according to projections from financial institutions tracking the region.
Strategic Chokepoint
South Sudan is landlocked and relies entirely on Sudan’s pipeline infrastructure to export oil. Heglig hosts the central processing facility capable of handling 130,000 barrels per day at peak capacity. All South Sudanese crude must pass through this facility before reaching Port Sudan for export.
This creates an existential economic vulnerability. Any disruption to Heglig’s operations or the connecting pipelines threatens South Sudan’s primary revenue source and its government’s ability to function.
The Rapid Support Forces captured Heglig on December 8 as the paramilitary group continues to gain ground against the Sudanese Armed Forces in West Kordofan. The RSF’s advance toward oil-producing regions prompted South Sudan’s intervention.
Operating Consortium
Heglig is operated by the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company, a joint venture consortium incorporated in 1997. The company’s ownership structure includes China National Petroleum Corporation (40%), Malaysia’s Petronas (30%), India’s ONGC (25%), and Sudan’s Sudapet (5%).
At peak operations, the consortium produced over 300,000 barrels per day across all its fields in Sudan and South Sudan. The company is also known as 2B Operating Company.
China National Petroleum Corporation has reportedly withdrawn from Sudan after three decades of operations, citing deteriorating security in West Kordofan, though independent confirmation of this withdrawal from major financial news outlets remains limited.
Regional Context
The deployment represents a rare case of a neighboring country intervening with the stated consent of both warring parties in a civil conflict. South Sudan resumed oil exports through Sudan in January 2025 after a nearly year-long suspension caused by pipeline damage.
Sudan’s civil war, which began in April 2023, has caused widespread displacement and destruction across the country. The conflict pits the Sudanese Armed Forces, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, against the Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
Sudanese economists have stated that Heglig’s loss has limited direct impact on Sudan’s finances, as the country lost 75% of its oil reserves when South Sudan gained independence in 2011. However, the transit fees from South Sudanese crude represented a significant revenue stream before the civil war.
South Sudan has not disclosed the size or composition of the force deployed to Heglig. The country’s military, the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces, includes ground forces, air force, and air defense units.
