Production from this oilfield, which lies close to the borders with Sudan and Ethiopia, has the potential to bring significant economic benefits to the region.

The Khor Adar, which drains the Machar Marshes, flows through the region in a northwest direction to the Nile, which it reaches just above Melut.

The swamps and marshes are fed by local rainfall and by many small torrents from the Ethiopian foothills, which extend for 200 kilometres (120 mi) along the eastern border, and by spill water from channels of the Sobat.

It has been proposed to build a canal from Machar via Adar to the White Nile to increase the volume of water flowing to Northern Sudan and Egypt, which apparently could be done without major environmental impact, but political instability has prevented the project from starting.

[7] In October 1996 GPC began to drill and reopen Chevron's wells and to build an all-weather road connecting Adar Yale to the garrison town of Melut.

[9] The U.S. government had been highly critical of Canadian involvement in Sudan oil development and in February 2000 the U.S. Treasury announced that American persons were forbidden to do business with the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company (GNPOC) and Sudapet.

Petrodar implemented major upgrades to the oil development infrastructure, including 31,000-barrel (4,900 m3)/day production facilities at the Adar Yale field, now largely cleared of its original inhabitants.

[7] In November 2005 CNCP brought the Petrodar pipeline into operation, linking Blocks 3 and 7 (Adar Yale and Palogue fields) to Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

[12] Soon after Chevron had closed operations, government troops began attacking civilian settlements in the area, burning the houses and driving the people away.

[7] In the late 1990s, Nuer militias from Nasir helped the army in clearing away the people to make way for the roads and infrastructure of the oilfield.

[7] Another source said church leaders reported that government militias burned 48 villages and displaced 55,000 people in the Adar area in 2000.

[13] According to International Relief and Development agency (IRD) director Derek Hammond, the areas around Adar contained "Fields of destroyed crops with no evidence of any type of food, a handful of local people scratching around in a swamp for something to eat".

In November 1996, SPLA leader John Garang gave warning that his forces would attack the Adar Yale oil field.

The crash killed Sudan's deputy defense minister, Colonel Ibrahim Shamsul-Din, and 13 other high-ranking officers who had been touring the southern military area.