Oil-producing community accuses Nilepet of marginalization in Unity State

JUBA — A major oil-producing community in South Sudan’s Unity State has formally accused the state oil company and its partners of marginalizing local professionals in senior management appointments, highlighting growing tensions in the country’s key petroleum region.

In a letter dated Feb. 16 to Nile Petroleum Corporation (Nilepet) board chairman Africano Mande Gedima, the Leek Community Association said its members had been excluded from leadership roles in oil operations conducted on their ancestral land.

“I write to you on behalf of the Leek Community of Rubkona County, Unity State, to formally express our profound dissatisfaction regarding the persistent exclusion of our qualified professionals from senior management positions within the oil and gas sector,” the association’s chairman, an economist, William Wicjial Wuor wrote.

Rubkona County hosts key oil infrastructure, including the Unity oilfield, one of South Sudan’s largest producing fields and a cornerstone of the country’s petroleum output.

Despite the area’s strategic importance, the association said host community members have been systematically excluded from leadership roles within Nilepet and its joint operating companies, including the Greater Pioneer Operating Company (GPOC), Dar Petroleum Operating Company (DPOC), and Sudd Petroleum Operating Company (SPOC).

“Despite the fact that petroleum operations occur on our ancestral land, the host community continues to face systemic discrimination,” the letter said. “This lack of representation in leadership roles contradicts the Petroleum Act 2012 and the Local Content Regulations.”

The group also alleged that appointments have been influenced by personal and tribal considerations rather than merit.

“Our observations indicate a critical lack of transparency in the appointment of Nilepet secondees to Joint Operating Companies (DPOC, GPOC, and SPOC). Since 2018, appointments appear to be based on personal interests and tribal affiliations rather than merit. This practice has directly disadvantaged the highly educated sons and daughters of Rubkona County,” the letter said.

The association cited leadership appointments within GPOC, saying six vice presidents appointed since 2018 came from outside the oil-producing host community.

“Since 2018, six individuals from a single administrative area have served as Vice President, while Rubkona County—a primary producing area—has not held this position once since 2018,” the letter said.

The Leek Community Association called for immediate corrective measures, including the appointment of its members to senior management and executive positions across Nilepet and its subsidiaries, warning it could pursue further action if its concerns were not addressed.

“We remain committed to constructive engagement; however, the community leadership will explore further avenues to protect our rights if these grievances remain unaddressed,” the association said, without clarifying the nature of the actions.

Nilepet and the Ministry of Petroleum did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

South Sudan relies heavily on oil revenues, which account for more than 90% of government income. Most oil production is concentrated in Unity State and Upper Nile State, where local communities have long complained of environmental damage, lack of employment opportunities, and exclusion from decision-making despite hosting critical oil infrastructure.

The Unity oilfield, located in Rubkona County, has been a central pillar of South Sudan’s oil economy since before independence in 2011, but disputes over resource control, employment, and representation remain a recurring source of tension between local communities and national authorities.