The Muglad Basin is a large

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 wi ...

Northern Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in t ...

. The basin is situated within southern

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

and

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

, and it covers an area of approximately across the two nations. It contains a number of

hydrocarbon In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and hydrophobic, and their odors are usually weak or ex ...

accumulations of various sizes, the largest of which are the

Heglig Heglig, or Panthou (also spelled Pandthow or Heglieg), 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 b ...

and

Unity Unity may refer to: Buildings * Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building * Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper * Unity Buildings, Liverpool, UK; two buildings in England * Unity Chapel, Wyoming, Wisconsin, US; a h ...

oil fields. During the 1960s and 1970s,

Chevron Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * '' Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock ...

made the first oil discoveries in the basin near the towns of

Bentiu Bentiu, also spelled Bantiu, is a city in South Sudan and capital of the state of Unity State. Location Bentiu is located in Rubkona County, Unity State, in northern South Sudan, near the international border with the Republic of the Sudan. It li ...

Malakal Malakal is a city in South Sudan. It is the capital of Upper Nile State, South Sudan, along the White Nile River. It also serves as the headquarter of Malakal county and it used to be the headquarter of Upper Nile Region from 1970s to late 1990s. ...

, and

Muglad Mujlad is a city in West Kurdufan State in the west of Sudan. It is the center town of the Misseriya tribe, sometimes also transliterated as "Messeria" tribe. In the late seventies, early eighties, Muglad was used as a staging area for oilfield ...

. Taken together, the Muglad and

Melut Melut is a community in the Upper Nile state of South Sudan, headquarters of Melut County. Location The town is on the east bank of the White Nile, just below the point where the Adar River enters the Nile. The region is one of wide, flat and lo ...

rift basins account for the majority of Sudan's known oil reserves. The oil fields of the Muglad Basin are connected to

Port Sudan Port Sudan ( ar, بور سودان, Būr Sūdān) is a port city in eastern Sudan, and the capital of the state of Red Sea. , it has 489,725 residents. Located on the Red Sea, Port Sudan is recognized as Sudan's main seaport and the source of 90% ...

on the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

by 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 commence ...

which begins at the

Unity oil field The Unity oil field is a major oil field in the Ruweng Administrative Area, South Sudan. It lies to the north of the state capital Bentiu in Rubkona County. The oil field, and the Heglig field further north, were discovered by Chevron Corporatio ...

. Oil extracted in Muglad is known as "Nile Blend" crude. It is refined at Khartoum for export and domestic consumption. Further

oil exploration Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for deposits of hydrocarbons, particularly petroleum and natural gas, in the Earth using petroleum geology. Exploration methods Vis ...

in the Muglad Basin commenced in February 2008.IHS 2008
'WNPOC starts Muglad Basin drilling campaign - Sudan'
''www.ihs.com'', 21 February. Retrieved on 5 March 2008.

References

External links

Aulacogens Geology of Sudan Geology of South Sudan Oil fields of Sudan Sedimentary basins of Africa {{SouthSudan-geo-stub

See also

References

External links