Heglig, or Panthou (also spelled Heglieg or Pandthow), is a small town at the border between the

South Kordofan South Kordofan ( ') is one of the 18 States of Sudan, wilayat or states of Sudan. It has an area of 158,355 km2 and an estimated population of approximately 2,107,623 people (2018 est). Kaduqli is the capital of the state. It is centered on t ...

state of

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

and the

Unity State Unity State, also known as Western Upper Nile, is a state in South Sudan. Unity State is in the Greater Upper Nile region. Unity is inhabited predominantly by two ethnic groups: the Nuer majority, and the Dinka minority. In 2015, a preside ...

South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...

. The entirety of Heglig is claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan, but administered by Sudan. The area was contested during the

Sudanese Civil War The term Sudanese Civil War refers to at least three separate conflicts in Sudan in Northeast Africa: *First Sudanese Civil War (1955–1972) *Second Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005) *Sudanese civil war (2023–present) It could also refer to other ...

. In mid-April 2012, South Sudan's

Sudan People's Liberation Army The South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF), formerly the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), is the military force of South Sudan. The SPLA was founded as a guerrilla movement against the government of Sudan in 1983 and was a key parti ...

(SPLA) captured the Heglig oil field from Sudan. Sudan took it back at the Second Battle of Heglig ten days later.

Etymology

''Heglig'' is the Arabic name of the "desert date", the fruit of the ''

Balanites aegyptiaca ''Balanites aegyptiaca'' (also known as the Egyptian balsam and Lalob in Sudan) is a species of tree, classified as a member of either the Zygophyllaceae or the Balanitaceae. This tree is native to much of Africa and parts of the Middle East. ...

'' tree, which is found in most parts of Africa and the Middle East. Sudanese Sufis use ''heglig'' ('' lalob'') seeds to make rosaries. ''Lalob'' is also a favorite food for camels, goats, sheep and cattle. South Sudan does not recognize the name Heglig for the town. During the 10-day occupation by the SPLA, South Sudan restored the name of the town Panthou, a Dinka translation of the word ''heglig''. Panthou is a combination of two words in Dinka; "Pand" which mean the area or home and "Thou" which is the desert date tree, as such Panthou means land or home of desert's date. There are many places around the Dinka areas that have the name of Panthou.

Heglig oil field

Heglig is situated within the

Muglad Basin The Muglad Basin is a large rift basin in Northern Africa. The basin is situated within southern Sudan and South Sudan, and it covers an area of approximately across the two nations. It contains a number of hydrocarbon accumulations of various ...

, a

rift basin In geology, a rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere is being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics. Typical rift features are a central linear downfaulted depression, called a graben, or more commonly a half-graben ...

which contains much of South Sudan's proven oil reserves. The Heglig oil field was first developed in 1996 by Arakis Energy (now part of

Talisman Energy Talisman Energy Inc. was a Canadian independent petroleum company that existed between 1993 and 2015. The company was created from the assets of BP Canada after British Petroleum divested its 57 percent stake in June 1992. It was one of Canada' ...

). Today it is operated by the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company. Production at Heglig is reported to have peaked in 2006 and is now in decline. The Heglig oil field is connected to

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...

and

Port Sudan Port Sudan (, Beja: ) is a port city on the Red Sea in eastern Sudan, and the capital of Red Sea State. Port Sudan is Sudan's main seaport and the source of 90% of the country's international trade. The population of Port Sudan was estimated in ...

via the

Greater Nile Oil Pipeline The Greater Nile Oil Pipeline is an important oil export pipeline in Sudan. It extends for approximately of which approximately 1.8 kilometres is submarine. It was constructed by the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company (GNPOC) and commenc ...

. In July 2009, the international organization,

Permanent Court of Arbitration The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered at the Peace Palace, in The Hague, Netherlands. Unlike a judicial court in the traditional sense, the PCA provides administrative support in international ...

(PCA) redefined the boundaries of

Abyei The Abyei Area () is an area of on the border between South Sudan and Sudan that has been accorded "special administrative status" by the 2004 Protocol on the Resolution of the Abyei Conflict (Abyei Protocol) in the Comprehensive Peace Agree ...

, a county that lies between

and

. The decision placed the Heglig and Bamboo oilfields out of Abyei boundary but did not specify to be belong to the Sudan province of

, nor to Upper Nile region, South Sudan and also the decision did not specify oil sharing. The government of Sudan claimed that area is belong to its country since it was ruled to be out of Abyei boundary by PCA and announced they would not share any oil revenue with the Government of South Sudan, emphasizing that the PCA established that Heglig was part of the north. The document of the PCA only indicated that the Heglig or Panthou area is not part of Abyei. There was fighting in the area during the 2012

Heglig Crisis The Heglig Crisis was a brief war fought between the countries of Sudan and South Sudan in 2012 over oil-rich regions between South Sudan's Unity and Sudan's South Kordofan states. South Sudan invaded and briefly occupied the small border town ...

, both the First Battle of Heglig and Second Battle of Heglig. In the first battle, South Sudanese forces raided the town and took control of it. In the second battle, Omar al-Bashir, president of Sudan, organized an army to recapture Heglig. The battle was successful and forced South Sudan to withdraw and led to continued clashes along the border.

Heglig Airport

Heglig Airport hosts three

Sudanese Air Force The Sudanese Air Force () is the air force, aerial warfare branch of the Military of Sudan, Sudanese Armed Forces. It was established in 1956 following Sudan's independence earlier that year, and first saw action in the First Sudanese Civil War. ...

helicopter squadrons (

Mil Mi-8 The Mil Mi-8 (, NATO reporting name: Hip) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Union, Soviet Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute, Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI) in the 1960s and introduced into the ...

Mil Mi-17 The Mil Mi-17 (NATO reporting name: Hip) is a Soviet-designed Russian military helicopter family introduced in 1975 (Mi-8M), continuing in production at two factories in Russia, in Kazan and Ulan-Ude. It is known as the Mi-8M series in Russ ...

). The airport's runways are both gravel.

References

{{Airports in Sudan Populated places in Unity (state) Territorial disputes of South Sudan Territorial disputes of Sudan *

Etymology

Heglig oil field

Heglig Airport

See also

References