South Sudan Army Moves Into Heglig Oilfield to Secure It After RSF Seized Site

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized the Heglig oilfield on the South Sudan border.

“A possible intervention by former President Trump could help restart talks, but any outside initiative must back a broad, internally led Sudanese process that includes civilians and addresses the root causes of the war economy”

Al Jazeera

The takeover prompted a rapid response from neighbouring Juba, which deployed South Sudanese forces to the area and said they would remain strictly neutral while aiming to completely neutralise the Heglig field from any combat operations.

Al Jazeera

Heglig hosts a central processing facility able to handle roughly 130,000 barrels per day of South Sudanese crude and feeds a long export pipeline.

Reports say production was halted and workers were evacuated amid the fighting.

The takeover and subsequent cross-border movements have raised immediate concerns about oil exports for both countries and about protection of personnel and infrastructure.

Reports indicate substantial movement of personnel and equipment after the capture.

Al Jazeera says around 3,900 Sudanese soldiers crossed into South Sudan's Rubkona County after evacuating Heglig, handing over tanks, armoured vehicles and artillery to South Sudanese authorities.

Al Jazeera

Other reports describe images circulating of Sudanese 90th Brigade troops inside South Sudan and commanders relocating.

CNPC, the Chinese operator at Heglig and Block 6, halted production and evacuated workers to South Sudan.

Officials described agreements to evacuate staff and avoid clashes as talks between Khartoum and Juba began.

Al-Jazeera Net details Heglig’s capacity and the pipeline’s length, warning that a shutdown would devastate South Sudan’s finances because oil accounts for about 90% of its revenue.

“Fierce fighting erupted in a strategic area after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized control of Darfur at the end of October, despite having declared a unilateral three-month humanitarian truce two weeks earlier”

Al-Jazeera Net

It estimates Sudan would lose roughly 21,000 barrels per day in receipts and more than $1 million per day in transit and export fees.

Other outlets report that CNPC signalled an end to investments and described the loss as a disaster.

OilPrice and additional analyses emphasize the risk to the export corridor and the threat this poses to both countries’ vital oil revenues.

Diplomatic and security measures moved in parallel.

Al‑Jazeera Net reports high‑level talks between Khartoum and Juba activating a prior oil‑and‑security pact.

Al-Jazeera Net

Tribal leaders helped broker understandings, and Juba sent a petroleum security delegation to Port Sudan.

International and regional actors urged protection for personnel.

Al Jazeera reports a deadly drone strike that killed dozens, including three South Sudanese soldiers, which Sudan’s army said targeted RSF fighters.

This underlines how quickly violence and diplomacy are interwoven on the ground.

The capture must be read in the broader conflict context.

“Public reaction is split after reports that Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have taken control of Heglig, Sudan’s largest oil town in western Kordofan (about 75 fields, including Block 6), and government forces apparently withdrew”

Al-Jazeera Net

Multiple sources describe Sudan as effectively split, with the army controlling the north, east and centre while the RSF and allied groups hold much of the west and south.

Al-Jazeera Net

They link Heglig’s fall to intensified fighting in Kordofan.

Reporting varies on emphasis.

Some reports highlight the humanitarian toll and calls by WHO and MSF for access.

Others underscore the strategic economic gain the RSF calls 'pivotal' and the longer-term investor flight signalled by CNPC’s withdrawal.