The Unity oilfield is a major oilfield in Chotjiok at Rotriak Boma, Budang Payam, northern territory of Rubkona County,

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 ...

. It lies to the north of the state capital

Bentiu Bentiu, also spelled Bantiu, is a city in South Sudan. It is the capital of Unity State. Location Bentiu is located in Rubkona County, Unity State, in the Greater Upper Nile region of South Sudan, near the international border with the Republic ...

. The oil field, and the

Heglig Heglig, or Panthou (also spelled Heglieg or Pandthow), is a small town at the border between the South Kordofan state of Sudan and the Unity State in South Sudan. The entirety of Heglig is claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan, but administered by ...

field further north, were discovered by

Chevron Corporation Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation predominantly specializing in oil and gas. The second-largest direct descendant of Standard Oil, and originally known as the Standard Oil Company of California (shortened t ...

in 1982, and was to become one of the most productive fields in Sudan. Chevron spent almost $880 million in exploration, but suspended operations soon after the

Second Sudanese Civil War The Second Sudanese Civil War was a conflict from 1983 to 2005 between the central Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement, Sudan People's Liberation Army. It was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil Wa ...

(1983–2005) began. The trigger was the killing in 1984 of three Chevron workers by Anyanya II rebels. Chevron demanded a special oilfield protection force in addition to the army. Dissatisfied with security, by 1988 Chevron had closed its operations in Unity province. Oil production in Unity State was halted in 2013 following the outbreak of the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, which badly damaged the country’s oil infrastructure. As of January 2019, South Sudan resumed production at the oilfield, and it was producing 15,000 barrels per day. It has an airstrip, near which the

2025 Light Air Services Beechcraft 1900 crash On 29 January 2025, a Beechcraft 1900D operated by Eagle Air on behalf of Light Air Services crashed in Unity State, located in the Greater Upper Nile region of South Sudan. The aircraft was on a routine scheduled charter flight from GPOC Un ...

occurred on 29 January 2025, killing 20 of 21 persons on board.https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/29/plane-crash-in-south-sudan-kills-at-least-20-people

References

{{reflist Oil fields in South Sudan Ruweng Administrative Area