Overview of Oil and Gas Fields in Sudan and South Sudan

As of March 2012, nearly all of the oil produced in Sudan and South Sudan came from Blocks 3, 7 and 5A, located in South Sudan, Block 6, located in Sudan, and Blocks 1, 2, and 4, located in an area that straddles Sudan, South Sudan, and the disputed Abyei region.

=Fields in Sudan=

Block 6
Block 6 belongs to the North and contains the Fula oil fields, which began production in March 2004, and in 2011 the block produced 55,000 bpd of highly acidic crude. The block is located in the northwest of the Muglad basin and is operated by China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), holding 95 percent equity of the block, with Sudapet holding the remaining 5 percent.

=Fields in South Sudan=

Blocks 3, 7
Blocks 3 and 7 are located in the Melut Basin in the northeast of South Sudan, which contains the Fal, Adar Yale, and Palogue oil fields. The blocks are operated by the Petrodar consortium, led by CNPC and Malaysia's Petronas with a 41 percent and 40 percent stake in the consortium, respectively. Production in the two blocks averaged about 230,000 bpd of the heavy, highly acidic Dar blend in 2011.

=Fields in border territories=

Greater Nile Oil Project
Collectively known as the Greater Nile Oil Project (GNOP), Blocks 1, 2, 4 are located in the Muglad Basin, covering an area of 48,388 square kilometers. The largest fields in the area are the Heglig and Unity fields, which began production in 1996. Combined production from Blocks 1, 2 and 4 in 2011 was an estimated 120,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Nile blend, according to the US Energy Information Administration, down from their 2004 peak of nearly 290,000 bpd.

Since fields within the Greater Nile Oil Project (GNOP) straddle both Sudans, the area is an object of ongoing dispute. The Unity field lies fully in South Sudan, but the Heglig field in Block 2 remains disputed. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled in 2009 that two fields from this block - Heglig and Bamboo - belong to the North; but protracted negotiations over the future of these fields have delayed the investment needed to stave off production declines.

In April 2012, South Sudan seized the Heglig field after violent clashes in the border region, in a move UN General Secretary Ban ki-Moon called "an infringement on the sovereignty of Sudan and a clearly illegal act".

=References=