Unity oil field

The Unity oil field is an oil field in Unity State, South Sudan. It lies to the north of the state capital Bentiu in Rubkona County, and, according to the Guardian, represents the largest and most important oil reserve in either of the Sudans. The University of California website Understanding Sudan wrote in 2009 that both the Unity and Heglig fields were in decline, with water ratios of 65 percent.

The field is connected to an export terminal near Port Sudan, on Sudan's Red Sea coast, via the 1,600 kilometer long Greater Nile pipeline.

=History= The oil field, and the Heglig field further north, were discovered by US company Chevron in 1982, and became one of the most productive fields in the former Sudan. Chevron spent almost $880 million in exploration, according to Understanding Sudan, but suspended operations soon after the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005) began, a major reason being the killing in 1984 of three Chevron workers by Anyanya II rebels. Chevron demanded a special oilfield protection force in addition to the army; but, dissatisfied with security, Chevron closed its operations in Unity province by 1988.

South Sudan and Sudan clashed in border areas near Unity field in the April 2012, with one military official telling the BBC that the Unity field was targeted in Sudanese attacks.

=References=