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| Political and military events | Effects of War/Displacement | Oil Developments | | 1956 Sudan independent from Anglo-Egyptian Condominium. | | | | 1960s-72 Separatist southern war by Anyanya rebels. | | | | 1969 Jafa’ar Numayri comes to power in a military coup. | | | | 1972 The first civil war is settled by giving regional autonomy to the three southern states. | | 1974 Chevron is granted large oil concessions in Sudan. | | 1975: Southern separatists continue low-level warfare as Anyanya II. | | 1978 Chevron discovers oil in Western Upper Nile (WUN), southern Sudan. |
| Political and military events | Effects of War/Displacement | Oil Developments | | 1983: Pres. Numayri revokes autonomy agreement and civil war resumes. | Early 1980s Baggara militias with government support displace Nuer and Dinka from their lands in WUN. | | | 1983: SPLM/A formed in Ethiopia, with training and arms from Ethiopia. | | February 2, 1984 Anyanya II attacks Chevron camp, killing three expatriates; Chevron suspends southern operations. | | April 6, 1985 The Numayri government is overthrown by a popular uprising. | 1986 Agreement between SPLM/A and Baggara halts WUN raids temporarily. | April 1985 The SPLA announces that it is still at war and will continue to block Chevron's operations. | | 1986-89 Parliamentary government is elected; peace talks with SPLM/A. | 1988 Devastating famine in Bahr El Ghazal resulting from drought and Baggara looting, kidnapping, killing, destruction and displacement. | |
| June 30, 1989 The National Islamic Front and Islamist army officers come to power through a military coup, aborting peace with SPLM/A. | | | | 1990: IMF suspends Sudan’s voting rights due to unpaid debt service. U.S. votes against Sudan in international financial institutions. | May 1991 Pres. Mengistu Haile Meriam of Ethiopia is overthrown; one hundred thousand Sudanese refugees and SPLA rebels flee back to southern Sudan. | | | August 1991 Three SPLA commanders led by Riek Machar mount a failed coup against Col. John Garang, then form a rival faction; WUN with Riek Machar. Nuer Dinka border war starts. | 1991-1999 Nuer Dinka border war causes displacement and empties at least one hundred villages; 1991 “Bor massacre” by Nuer and Riek Machar forces displaces thousands of Dinka from area south of WUN. | June 15, 1992 Chevron sells its Sudan oil interests to Concorp, a Sudanese corporation. |
| Political and military events | Effects of War/Displacement | Oil Developments | | | 1992 Government forces remove civilians who are “too near” prospective oil operations. | December 8, 1992 Canadian companies Arakis Energy Inc. and State Petroleum Inc. purchase some WUN concessions (later “GNPOC”). | | August 1993 U.S. State Department places Sudan on the U.S. list of countries that support international terrorism. | December 1993 Government offensive clears civilians from oilfields near Heglig in WUN. | August 22, 1995 Two stock exchanges suspend trading in Arakis stock and investigate financial nondisclosures. |
| April 1996 Riek Machar faction and the government agree in Political Charter to southern self-determination referendum. | | July 1996 Arakis brings eight wells on stream and ships crude oil to El Obeid refinery for domestic use. | | | October 1996 Sudanese government/muraheleen offensive displaces thousands north of Bentiu in WUN. | December 6, 1996 Arakis sells 75 percent of its GNPOC concession to Chinese National Petroleum Corp., (Malaysian) Petronas, Sudapet (40/30/5 percent respectively). | | | | February 6, 1997 International Petroleum Company (IPC, owned by [Swedish] Lundin Oil), Petronas, (Austrian) OMV, and Sudapet buy Block 5A concession. |
| Political and military events | Effects of War/Displacement | Oil Developments | | April 27, 1997 Khartoum Peace Agreement signed by the government and Riek Machar, etc. | | March 1, 1997 The GNPOC consortium agrees to build pipeline from its oil fields to the Red Sea. | | September 15, 1997 Clashes in WUN between Cmdr. Paulino Matiep (government militia) and Riek Machar forces over governor elections for WUN (Unity State); in December Machar’s candidate wins. | | November 1997 U.S. executive order imposes criminal penalties on U.S. persons doing business with Sudan. |
| June-August 1998: Fighting between Matiep militia and Machar forces in WUN: Matiep forces three times enter and burn buildings in Duar, Koch, and Ler, WUN. | July 1998 Displacement of civilians reflected in OLS report, concluding that WUN “experienced pre-famine conditions, in almost all cases as a result of military activity.” | July 16, 1998 Arakis announces it is for sale. | | August 20, 1998 In retaliation for the simultaneous bombings in June of two U.S. embassies in Africa, the U.S. bombs targets in Sudan(pharmaceutical plant), Afghanistan. | August 1998 Environmental assessment of GNPOC pipeline route concludes that if an accident happens, it will affect rivers and agricultural and pastoral areas. | August 1998 Talisman announces it will buy Arakis and its Sudan assets. Sale closed in October. Talisman speeds up completion of the pipeline from GNPOC concession to the Red Sea. | | February-May 1999 The defense minister and Riek Machar disagree on whose forces protect Block 5A. | | November 1998 U.S. economic sanctions on Sudan extended. |
| Political and military events | Effects of War/Displacement | Oil Developments | | February 27-March 8, 1999 (Nile) West Bank Nuer-Dinka reconciliation sponsored by the NSCC in Wunlit, Bahr El Ghazal, ending their border war. | Early 1999 Matiep forces order Dinka in Ruweng county (GNPOC) to move to garrison town of Pariang or to the north (Khartoum). | April 8, 1999 Lundin drills an exploratory well in Block 5A, stresses importance of GNPOC pipeline. | | April 29, 1999 Gen. Matiep expels Gov. Taban Deng from Unity state | March 31, 1999 Four Sudanese captured while with ICRC in Ruweng county WUN killed in SPLA custody. | April 1999 CNPC announces that it plans to begin selling shares to the public to help fund new projects. |
| | May 9-23, 1999 Sudanese government forces launch an offensive on Dinka villages in Ruweng County (GNPOC area), using Antonovs, helicopter gunships, militia, and soldiers, burning and destroying civilian property and displacing thousands. | May 4, 1999 Talisman annual shareholders meeting: shareholder measure protesting Sudan project is not allowed on the ballot. Demonstrators protest Talisman’s partnership with the abusive Sudan government. | | May 1999 The government announces its Popular Defense Force (PDF, Islamist militia under army jurisdiction) is dispatching “Protectors of the Oil Brigade” to the oil fields. | May 5, 1999: Matiep and government army forces sweep through Block 5A to Adok, causing mass displacement of Nuer and property destruction. | May 21, 1999 Lundin announces discovery of a large oil deposit in Block 5A and suspension of operations until end of the rainy season. |
| Political and military events | Effects of War/Displacement | Oil Developments | | | | May 31, 1999 Completed pipeline at Heglig is inaugurated. | | June 1999 The first resolution by the U.S. Congress on Sudan condemns human rights abuses there. | June 1999 First waves of WUN Nuer displaced reach Dinka areas, welcomed. Late June WFP report on Ruweng area finds evident malnutrition. | June 23, 1999 The first oil flows into the GNPOC pipeline. | | July 3, 1999 Riek Machar forces (with SPLA supplies) conduct a surprise attack on Matiep militia in Ler, later fight in Koch, Boaw, and Nhialdiu in Block 5A. | July 1999 Helicopter gunships attack Pariang area and a new relief airstrip at Biem in Block 1, with civilian casualties and displacement. | June 30, 1999 The Concorp refinery north of Khartoum, privately owned and financed by China, is inaugurated. | | July 11, 1999 Gen. Matiep’s agents abduct two state ministers and other civilians at night; the two are found dead and many others are detained at the Matiep base. | July 1999 Government air power stops Riek Machar advance at Nhialdiu in WUN; government/militia forces push south and displace thousands. | | | | July 14, 1999 Government bans relief flights to most of WUN. | | | . | July 24, 1999 Government forces destroy Bolyar village, five hours from GNPOC oil operations | | |
| July 27, 1999 WFP calls for lifting the government flight ban and warns that 150,000 civilians in WUN cannot be reached with necessary relief. | | | August 27, 1999 The IMF lifts its declaration of non-cooperation, imposed in 1990. | August 1999 Sudanese government partially lifts WUN flight ban but access remains limited. Third round of fighting in Block 5A leaves thousands more displaced. | August 30, 1999 The first Sudanese export of crude oil: 600,000 barrels from the new port on the Red Sea. | | | | | |
| Political and military events | Effects of War/Displacement | Oil Developments | | September 9, 1999 Cmdr. Peter Gatdet and troops mutiny from Gen. Matiep, capture Mankien base, turning against the government. | September 19-25, 1999 WFP suspends food distributions in Bentiu because of security. | September 19, 1999 The first sabotage on the pipeline occurs in northern Sudan, east of Atbara. | | Early October 1999 More oil-related sabotage: two bomb blasts go off at a depot and service station in Kassala, eastern Sudan. | September 23, 1999 Fighting and government flight bans block aid to WUN. | September 30, 1999 Rep. Frank Wolf asks the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to disapprove the CNPC initial public offering (IPO) listing on the New York Stock Exchange. | | | | | |
| October 26, 1999 The Canadian government sets forth its Sudan policy, with possible sanctions on Talisman. | | October 20, 1999 Talisman estimates that the Heglig and Unity fields will earn the Sudanese government some U.S. $3 to $5 bn. | | November 4, 1999 Realignment of Nuer forces in Waat, Upper Nile, forming the Upper Nile Provisional Military Command Council. | November 1999 WFP says many areas of WUN cannot be accessed and 140,000 vulnerable people do not receive needed emergency food aid, while an additional 360,000 lack access to basic health etc. | November 1999, PetroChina created to receive all CNPC China mainland assets and to remove Sudan-based objections to the CNPC IPO: the Sudan project will stay behind a “firewall” with CNPC. | | November 1999 A government minister tells oil industry analysts visiting Sudan, sponsored by Talisman, that military spending amounts to only 15 to 18 percent of the budget, and will not be increased. | Late November 1999 WFP says faction fighting and government flight bans have prevented delivery of food and other services to an estimated 800,000 people in the region | November 28, 1999 A pipeline importing oil products from Port Sudan to Khartoum is sabotaged. | | Political and military events | Effects of War/Displacement | Oil Developments | | 1999 Military spending is 62.2 billion dinars. | | 1999 Talisman and the Sudan government’s profits almost double, due to an OPEC-led jump in crude oil prices. | | | | November 1999 U.S. economic sanctions on Sudan extended. | | December 13, 1999 In an intramural government power struggle, an all-Sudan state of emergency is imposed and parts of the constitution suspended. | 1998-1999 WFP estimates 70,500 civilians in WUN displaced as a result of oil field conflict. | December 1999 Canadian government human rights mission visits Sudan and oilfield areas. Sudan Update publishes Peter Verney’s report on the role of oil in the Sudan civil war.
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| January 31, 2000 Riek Machar resigns from government, forms another rebel army; Waat unity ends. | | January 2000 Rebels (Beja Congress) sabotage the pipeline. | | 2000: Sudanese government oil revenue for the year is $ 140.9 bn dinars. | | January 2000 Lundin builds a bridge across the Bahr El Ghazal river at Bentiu and in February says drilling operations in Block 5A still stalled. | | February 2000 SPLM/A and Islamist leader al Turabi reach political agreement; al Turabi jailed by government. | February 14, 2000 Sudan government bombs a school in Kauda, Nuba Mountains, killing fourteen. Bombing by Sudan government increases in 2000. | February 14, 2000 The Canadian government human rights report says Canadian companies have responsibility for increased human rights abuses in Sudan; sanctions not imposed. | | |
| February 2000 The U.S. extends its Sudan sanctions to U.S. entities doing business with GNPOC or Sudapet. | | Political and military events | Effects of War/Displacement | Oil Developments | | |
| March-May 2000 Rebels ambush oil road construction work in Blocks 5A, 1. | | |
| May 2000 Beja Congress on camelback sabotages the pipeline. | | | July-August 2000 Three times, government bombs airstrips where relief planes are on the ground. Flights suspended. | May 2000 Talisman annual meeting; shareholder resolution for independent report on Sudan project wins votes but no majority. Internal report to be prepared. | | July 2000 Riek Machar’s forces receive ammunition from government militias to fight the SPLA in WUN. | July-August 2000 Scorched earth fighting between Gatdet SPLA and Riek Machar forces results in mass displacement. | July-December 2000 Lundin completes roadwork on all-weather road from Ryer/Thar Jath to Bentiu.
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| September 2000 The U.S., in the U.N. General Assembly, keeps Sudan from a seat on the Security Council. |
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| | December 2000 Sudan’s national assembly, following elections, extends the state of emergency. |
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| | 2001 Sudanese government takes delivery of twelve attack helicopters and twenty-two armored combat vehicles from Russia; military spending doubled over 1999. | February-April 2001 A new wave of displaced flees to Bentiu due to attacks and looting by government militia; WFP reports high malnutrition rates. | January 2001 SPLA Cmdr. Peter Gatdet attacks oil installation in GNPOC concession. | | 2001 Sudanese government military expenditures for 2001 (90.2 bn dinars) are 45 percent higher than 1999 and consume 60 percent of 2001 oil revenues. |
| March 2001 Lundin announces a significant discovery in Block 5A. |
| Political and military events | Effects of War/Displacement | Oil Developments | | April 2001 Wunlit West Bank Peace Council calls emergency session, calling for end to SPLA/ Riek Machar fighting in WUN. | April 2001 A Swedish journalist travels Lundin’s oil road and notes displacement as well as militarization of the road. | April 2001 Talisman issues its Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2000, saying it paid compensation to the displaced—in the north, along the pipeline. | | April 27, 2001 Sudanese army Brig. Gen. Gatluak Deng forms Nuer, Dinka, and Equatorian government militias into one unified force, SSDF. |
| May 1, 2001 At annual meeting Talisman presents satellite images of seven small areas in its Sudan project as “proof” of non- displacement. Critics demonstrate. | | |
| May 3, 2001 Petronas, Lundin, OMV, and Sudapet buy Block 5B south of Block 5A. | | May 8, 2001 U.S. SEC requires foreign companies on U.S. exchanges to disclose material business done with countries “of particular concern” to State Department because of abuses. | May 2001 Georgette Gagnon and John Ryle publish report on displacement and government attacks on civilians in Western Upper Nile | May 2001 Talisman announces a projected expansion from six to ten oil fields within twelve months. | | June 2001 U.S. representatives pass Sudan Peace Act with capital market sanctions against foreign companies doing business with Sudan; law stalls in the Senate. | June 2001 Gerhart Baum, U.N. special rapporteur for Sudan, reports that human rights worsened since 2000, fueled by conflict over oil. | May 2001 A coalition of European NGOs forms the European Campaign on Oil in Sudan to lobby to cease oil operations in Sudan. | | September 6, 2001 President Bush assigns John Danforth as his special envoy for peace in Sudan. | July 2001 Wild polio virus confirmed in Ruweng County; WHO urges new immunizations. |
| | September 2001 After the September 11th attacks on the U.S., the Sudanese government announces its cooperation with the U.S. against terrorism. |
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| Political and military events | Effects of War/Displacement | Oil Developments | | September 2001 The U.S. abstains and 1996 Security Council sanctions on Sudan are lifted. |
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| | October 27, 2001 Kenyan Lt. Gen. Lazarus Sumbeiywo appointed IGAD chairman | October 5-8, 2001 Sudanese government bombs relief operations in Bahr El Ghazal, with fifteen civilian casualties. | November 1, 2001 U.S. economic sanctions against Sudan extended. | | November 13, 2001 U.S. special envoy Danforth presents a four-point plan to the Sudanese government and SPLM/A. | November 27, 2001 U.N. consolidated appeal for Sudan calls for almost U.S. $ 200 million in aid for 2002, cites food insecurity in WUN. | November 8, 2001 A class action lawsuit on behalf of Sudanese displaced is filed against Talisman in New York, claiming it contributed to rights abuses. | | December 9, 2001 Sudan’s National Assembly extends the state of emergency. |
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| | December 15, 2001 The Russian Aircraft Corp. agrees to sell fighter jets to Sudan. Russia exported to Sudan in 2001 twenty-two armored combat vehicles and twelve attack helicopters. |
| December 2001 Lundin helicopter shot down by government militia. | | January 7, 2002 SPLM/A and Riek Machar faction unite. | January 24-25, 2002 Government bombings in Koch, Ler, Mayendit WUN. | January 2002 Talisman issues shares through the Toronto stock exchange, not NYSE. | | January 19, 2002 Sudanese government and SPLM/A sign a cease-fire agreement for the Nuba mountains with U.S. and Swiss mediation. |
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| | Early 2002: SPLA dry season offensive in WUN countered by government air and militia attacks. | January-March 2002: Tens of thousands displaced from WUN away from oilfields. |
| | January 26 – February 1, 2002 Cease-fire for WUN commanders formalized. | January 23, 2002 The U.N. special rapporteur reports the human rights situation has not improved and that oil has exacerbated the conflict.
| Janurary 22, 2002 Lundin announces the suspension of its operations in Sudan due to deterioration of security conditions. | | February 7, 2002 British Prime Minister Tony Blair announces appointment of Alan Goulty as special envoy for Sudan. | February 9, 2002 Government bombing of Nimne in WUN kills five, including an MSF nurse. |
| | | February 20, 2002: Sudan government helicopter attack on Bieh in WUN Block 5A kills twenty-four civilians. |
| | February 21, 2002 The U.S. suspends negotiations with Sudan due to February 20 attack, which is denounced worldwide. | March 2002 According to a joint WFP/OLS report, at least 174,200 civilians still displaced due to the oilfield conflict. |
| | March 2002 The Sudanese government apologizes for February 20 attack; it and SPLA sign an agreement not to target civilians or civilian objects. | March 1, 2002 The GOS raises the number of off-limit locations to relief agencies from 26 to 45. |
| | April 22, 2002 Announcement that Sudan is to buy armaments from Russia and increase military-technical cooperation. | January-October 2002 Sudanese government and militias fight SPLA in WUN, conducting a scorched earth campaign displacing tens of thousands; estimated 50,000-75,000 newly displaced from Block 5A. | April 2002 Talisman Corporate Social Responsibility report for 2001 publishes government oil revenues, estimated at U.S. $ 674 million for 2001. | | | March-April 2002 Two independent human rights investigations in WUN reports find continued displacement. | |
| Political and military events | Effects of War/Displacement | Oil Developments | | April 20, 2002 The U.N. Commission on Human Rights issues a resolution on Sudan mentioning abuses in the oilfields; by a one-vote margin, it continues the mandate of the special rapporteur. | April 2002 MSF, Canadian NGO KAIROS, and Christian Aid/DanAid reports published on displacement in oil areas. | May 2002 Talisman annual meeting of shareholder attracts criticism from shareholders and demonstrators outside. | | May 10, 2002 Danforth’s report to President Bush is made public; it recommends continuing U.S. engagement in the peace process. | May 14, 2002 The European Coalition on Oil in Sudan publishes a report on recent displacement in Block 5A. | May 2002 Austria’s OMV issues a statement of concern about ECOS reports of abuses in Sudan. | | | May 2002 WUN fighting intensifies, leading to displacement of 15,000-20,000 from Block 5A. | |
| May 22, 2002 An international commission of eminent persons finds that slavery is “commonplace” in Sudan. | May 28, 2002 The Sudan government demands that southern relief operations be moved from Kenya to Khartoum, to bring them under government control. | | | June 2002 IGAD peace talks revived. | March-May 30, 2002 Humanitarian relief flights cut off then resume in WUN and Bahr El Ghazal. Up to 1.3 million people denied aid. | May 2002 European Coalition on Oil in Sudan (ECOS) publishes “Depopulating Sudan’s Oil Regions, January-March 2002, meets with OMV. | | 2002 Talisman projections show that GNPOC oil production would peak in 2005 at 250,000 b/d then rapidly decline. | June 26, 2002 OLS assessment in WUN estimates 150,000-300,000 persons affected by fighting and insecurity. 190,000 of them have fled into nearby area; food deficits in 2003 estimated at 50 – 100 percent of WUN population. |
| | Political and military events | Effects of War/Displacement | Oil Developments | | July 2, 2002 U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African affairs Walter Kansteiner talks with President Bashir about peace. | June 2002 WFP assessment in WUN finds widespread malnutrition, disease, and 60 percent of needy inaccessible because of flight bans. | | | On July 20, 2002 the Sudanese government and SPLM/A agree to self-determination after 6.5 year interim period and no shari’a in the south, in the Machakos Protocol reached in IGAD negotiations. | Early July, 2002. Thousands flee following the fall of the rebel-held town of Mankien, WUN. | July 30, 2002 Talisman announces daily production in Sudan over the second quarter averaged 60,600 b/d. | | July-October 2002 Sudanese government continues WUN offensive. | August-September 2002 Government continues partial WUN flight ban. | August 9, 2002. Lundin says it will resume drilling in February 2003 if peace agreement finalized in September. |
| September 2, 2002 Government walks out of peace talks after SPLA captures town of Torit. | September 27 – October 1, 2002 Sudanese government closes all humanitarian access to southern Sudan. |
| | October 2002 U.S. Congress passes the Sudan Peace Act, imposing sanctions on Sudan if it does not negotiate in good faith; capital market sanctions dropped. | October 5, 2002 Sudanese government drops eighteen bombs on several villages between Koch and Bieh in WUN. |
| | October 16, 2002. The government and SPLM/A sign a cease-fire, extended later, and peace negotiations resume. | October 26, 2002 The Sudan government and SPLM/A agree to full humanitarian access. | October 30, 2002 Talisman announces agreement to sell its Sudan assets to Indian state oil company. | | October 21, 2002 The U.S. Sudan Peace Act is signed into law. | | November 2002 U.S. renews economic sanctions on Sudan. | | Political and military events | Effects of War/Displacement | Oil Developments | | December 15, 2002 The Civilian Protection Monitoring Team issues its first report. |
| | | 2002 Russia sold eight armored combat vehicles and four attack helicopters to Sudan, and Belarus sold Sudan fourteen large-caliber Russian-made artillery systems. |
| | | Late December 2002-January 2003 Government dry season offensive in Block 5A. |
| | | February 4, 2003 After CPMT report documents Sudanese government ceasefire violations, the parties sign an addendum to the ceasefire agreement. |
| | | February 2003 Cmdr. Tito Biel defects to the government. |
| March 27, 2003 Lundin announced the resumption of oil activities. | | April 2003 After ten years, Sudanese government succeeds in achieving vote at U.N. Commission on Human Rights not renewing the mandate of the special rapporteur on human rights. |
| | | April 2003 The South Sudan Defence Forces attend the security talks at IGAD and table a proposal that is ignored. |
| April 27, 2003 Lundin agrees to sell its Block 5A interest to Petronas. |
| April 21, 2003 First submission to Congress pursuant to Sudan Peace Act concludes both parties are negotiating in good faith. |
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| September 2, 2003 OMV signs an agreement to sell its Blocks 5A and 5B interests to ONGC Videsh. |
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