Kampala, Uganda – Uganda is embarking on oil exploration ventures in two new regions, aiming to boost the country’s currently known reserves of 6.5 billion barrels of crude oil. This move comes nearly two decades after the discovery of commercially viable oil deposits in the Albertine Graben basin, located near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa announced the expansion plans during a press conference in Kampala. Government geologists are currently conducting preliminary studies in the Moroto-Kadam Basin, situated in the north, and the Kyoga Basin in the northeast, to assess their potential for oil and gas resources.
Early results from the Moroto-Kadam Basin are encouraging, suggesting the possibility of commercially viable oil and gas reserves. Uganda has five sedimentary basins with potential for hydrocarbons, but only the Albertine Graben basin has been successfully explored to date.
The two existing oil fields in the Albertine basin – Tilenga and Kingfisher – are majority-owned by French energy giant TotalEnergies, with a 56.7% stake. The remaining shares are held by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and Uganda’s national oil company, UNOC.
Despite the discovery, commercial production has faced delays due to various factors. Disagreements with oil companies regarding development strategies and taxation, coupled with infrastructure and funding limitations, have hampered progress.
Nankabirwa highlighted the ongoing infrastructure development. While only 72 out of the planned 457 wells have been drilled in the Tilenga and Kingfisher fields, oil companies have submitted a proposal for a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) facility, which the government intends to approve.
The Ugandan government is also awaiting a decision from potential Chinese financiers, including EXIM Bank and SINOSURE, next month. These institutions are crucial for providing credit to construct the proposed East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). This 1,445-kilometer pipeline will be a vital infrastructure project, allowing Uganda to export its crude oil through a port on Tanzania’s Indian Ocean coast.
