Since the Anglo-Egyptian colonial epoch (1898-1956), development in Sudan has mainly been based on large-scale projects, such as the Gezira Irrigation Scheme, Rahad Irrigation Scheme, Jonglei Canal, oil exploitation, Merowe Dam and rain-fed mechanized agricultural schemes. Without doubt, these projects, implemented in the name of the „national interest,‟ have benefited the country immensely. Nonetheless, it is also true that they have been associated with conflicts and displacement as people who feel marginalized resort to arms against the state so as to secure their interests. This paper analyses the conflict and displacement linked to oil development in Southern Sudan, a region that suffered two long wars since the British and Egyptian colonial regime was ended in 1956 and Northern “Arab”1 and Muslim elites assumed power.

The paper is organized as follows: Section 2 discusses the discovery of oil by Chevron Oil Company and its repercussions for the local people in the oil areas and for the Addis Ababa Agreement. Section 3 deals with development of oil resources in the midst of the second war and the mass displacement of local people. Section 4 delves into the ongoing displacement after the war ended. And the last section

concludes.