By Brian Kiprono - Reporter
November, 19 2025 - South Sudan has resumed full oil production and exports after a pair of drone attacks inside neighbouring Sudan rattled the region’s most important energy corridor and forced a rare shutdown of cross-border operations.
Officials in Juba confirmed on Wednesday that crude is once again flowing to the Red Sea, but warned that the strikes had exposed the growing vulnerability of an industry that both Sudans depend on to survive.
Undersecretary for Petroleum Eng. Deng Lual Wol told journalists that output had been restored after joint Sudan–South Sudan technical teams worked through the night to repair damage at the Heglig and Al Jabalain facilities, which were hit on 13 and 15 November. One oil worker was killed in the first attack.
“This was a targeted strike on vital infrastructure,” Wol said. “We lost a colleague, and our hearts are with his family. Yet our teams showed extraordinary courage and professionalism in restoring operations.”
A Corridor Under Fire
The first drone hit Heglig shortly after 2:30 p.m., firing three missiles into a maintenance workshop and laboratory. Petroline operators immediately triggered an emergency shutdown, and by mid-afternoon Pump Station 1 and associated units were offline under force majeure.
Two days later, another drone struck Al Jabalain’s processing plant and power station, prompting the Bashayer Pipeline Company to halt pumping across the corridor that transports South Sudanese crude to Port Sudan.
Regional analysts say the attacks underline the increasing militarisation of Sudan’s conflict, where drones and precision strikes have become a defining feature in battles between the army and the Rapid Support Forces. For South Sudan, the risks are existential: more than 90% of its government revenue comes from oil.
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Engineers Lead Rapid Recovery
A combined technical team made up of South Sudanese operators, Sudan’s Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, BAPCO, PETCO and 2B OPCO was deployed within hours. Wol said engineers “worked as one regional force,” restoring power, restarting processing units and reactivating Pump Station 1 by 16 November.
By Wednesday, exports from the Unity, Tharjiath and Paloch fields had fully resumed, with production levels expected to rise as additional wells come back online.
Security Questions Remain
Despite the swift recovery, uncertainty lingers. Wol said both governments were working with regional partners to strengthen protection of facilities that lie deep inside Sudanese territory.
“As a landlocked country, South Sudan depends on this corridor,” he said. “Safeguarding it is in the interest of both nations.”
He praised the engineers whose rapid response prevented deeper economic shock, but acknowledged that the attacks have left the region’s oil lifeline more fragile than ever.
