The Uganda National Oil and Gas Symposium was held for the 2nd time as an annual symposium under the theme; “National Content and Sustainability of Uganda’s Oil and Gas Sector” at Makerere university.
Hosted by Makerere university together with operation wealth creation, the symposium was held to show the progress and benefits of the oil sector to Ugandan nationals.
Representing the Minister of Energy and Mineral development Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu, Eng. Irene Batebe the permanent secretary for the ministry officially opened the ceremony.
in her opening remarks, Eng. Irene gave a brief introduction on what developments have happened in the oil industry since the last symposium.
She said ‘Key agreements for the next stage of the Oil & Gas sector were signed in April 2021. The key projects for the Oil & Gas Sector in Uganda are Tilenga, Kingfisher and the East African Crude oil Pipeline (ECOP).’
Uganda has discovered over 6.4 billion barrels of oil which 1.5 billion barrels have been estimated to be economically recoverable.
Oil and gas exploration has been ongoing and is still ongoing in the Albertine region and pipeline route. There have been over 21 oil and gas discoveries in the Albertine region recently and new exploration is taking place in Moroto.
To maximize participation in the sector, government has undertaken studies to ascertain the opportunities for Ugandans.
To achieve this, government continues to train & skill Ugandans to qualify them for the Oil & Gas sector says PS Eng. Irene Batebe.
In her last remarks the PS said the sector is working towards poverty eradication and contributing to the economic development of the country.
The Government has trained technical experts such as engineers and upskilled over 14,000 suppliers in order to be order to compete favorably in the oil market.
The oil and gas sector is expected to create over 161,000 jobs for Ugandans,14,000 of which will be direct, 42,000 indirect and over 100,000 will be induced. So far over 400 Ugandan companies have provided different goods and services giving them employment.
The Oil and Gas sector has also made it possible for many people to get trainings in oil and gas specialization producing the best experts in the region.
Companies such as Stanbic bank and Total energies have incubated over 30 companies and also aided in training of field officers and maintenance technicians to empower Ugandans and ensure they are ready to take part in the sector.
Makerere University associate professor, Prof. Eria Hisali said that several things have taken place over the past year.
‘One of the most important things is the signing of the commercial agreements that underpin the production and transportation of crude oil.’
Another development this year is the issuing of conditional letters of award from international oil companies to Tier 1 local contractors, and soon final letters will be given after some reviews are made.
The professor continued to say that the prospects of oil production in Uganda are real. ‘Unless something unusual happens, we shall not go beyond 2025 without producing our first drop of oil.’
Environmental issues which have been major concern in the oil and gas sector were also addressed. The Director of Petroleum at Ministry of Energy & Mineral Development, Mr. Honey Malinga said, ‘We also want to ensure that the oil and gas activities do not affect the environment. We have put in place mechanisms to ensure that the environment is protected. Environment assessment was done and certificate issued.’
CNOOC (China National Offshore Oil Corporation), UNOC (Uganda national oil company) Total energies, AMA energies among others are the top tier companies which will see to the running of the various oil and gas projects with Total Energies being the biggest shareholder with 62%, Uganda and Tanzania both with 15% and CNOOC with 8%.
Aggrey Ashaba of the Private Sector Uganda implored Ugandans to register on the National Talent Register, a public platform where Ugandans register their skill set to benefit from the opportunities in the Oil and Gas Sector.
The developmental effects of the oil and gas sector cannot be fully exhausted but these will bring knowledge and technology transfer, infrastructural development (UNOC is leading the development of the Kabale Industrial Park that will be in charge of value addition in the oil and gas sector) poverty eradication and so much more.
