مدينة هجليج تابعة لجنول السودان وليس للشمال.

When oil was discovered in the South in the 1970s, a dispute arose between the Government of Sudan under former President Jaafar Nimeiri and the autonomous government of the South. At that time, officials in Khartoum had attempted to transfer the rich oil, agricultural and grazing lands of Upper Nile and Bhar El Ghazal to Northern provinces by redrawing the map.

In response to representations from both the Southern government and the Regional Assembly, Jaafar Nimeiri appointed a committee under the Chief Justice Khalifallah Rasheed to investigate and review the relevant legal corpus and advice. The committee also was composed of a number of prominent Southern Regional officials. The committee recommended the retention of boundaries fixed on 1st January 1956 as stipulated by the Addis Ababa Agreement. The committee recommended that all oilfields, including Heglig, were part of Southern Sudan and Jaafar Nimeiri accepted the recommendations of the committee.

The argument of the North that Heglig was part of Kordofan was rejected and the committee concluded that Panthou was within Bentiu Area Council, two hours drive from Bentiu town and five hours drive from Kadugli. Everybody in the locality knows that it is a part of Bentiu Area Council.