Bateebe confirmed that several areas in the Albertine Graben have been earmarked for exploration and will be announced for the third competitive bidding.
The Ministry of Energy kicked off the process for
the third oil field licensing round as part of the efforts to increase
the country’s oil reserves.
Currently, Uganda has approximately 6.5
billion barrels of oil reserves, with at least 1.4 billion estimated to be
economically recoverable.
The Energy Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Irene
Bateebe confirmed that several areas in the Albertine Graben have been
earmarked for exploration and will be announced for the third competitive
bidding.
She revealed that the Cabinet approved the
Environment, Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs) for the areas to be opened up.
And that the Minister of Energy, Ruth Nankabiwa was tasked to present those
reports to parliament for consideration before new exploration are areas
announced.
“So our target is that by mid of this year, we
should be able to announce our third licensing round, once we have those
consultations concluded,” said Bateebe.
///Cue In “The preparations for launching….
Cue Out…third licensing
round”///
In February 2023, the
Minister of Energy, Ruth Nankabirwa signed Production Sharing
Agreements (PSAs) and granted Exploration licenses to Uganda National Oil
Company for the Kasuruban area and DGR Energy Turaco Uganda SMC Limited for the
Turaco exploration area.
The
signing of the PSAs and award of licenses marked the end of the second
competitive bidding process which had begun as early as 2019 but was disrupted
by the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.
Three
blocks that had been placed under the second licensing under the second round
reverted to the government.
It
said Ngaji, Avivi, and Omuka attracted less interest
among the companies that bided during that licensing round.
Ugandan and DRC
Environment activists have in the past opposed attempts to explore for oil in
the Ngaji block which is in the vicinity of the Virunga National Park. Virunga
National Park is a national park in the Albertine Rift Valley in the eastern
part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Virunga is one of the
most biologically diverse areas on the planet and home to the world's
critically endangered mountain gorillas.
While there is global debate
about the e need to shift from fossil-powered development, Uganda has insisted
that its oil and gas resources should be explored so that they can help it to
transit.
Ruth Nankabirwa last
week told journalists that more exploration work would bolster Uganda’s
petroleum reserves, sustain petroleum production beyond 25 years, and enhance
the commercial feasibility of midstream projects, including the refinery and
EACOP.
M/s Oranto Petroleum from
Nigeria and M/s Armour Energy from Australia which were selected during the first
competitive bidding round were yet to drill any well.
Oranto had its license extended
by the Minister at the end of last year.
Armour Energy Limited which
was licensed to operate in the Kanywataba exploration had by the end of 2023
not drilled any well.
There were reports at the end of 2023 that the company
was in receivership.
The Minister said the
two companies are continuing with seismic data acquisition and interpretation
activities and that exploration drilling in was expected this year.
The Ministry of Energy
has conducted preliminary petroleum exploration studies in the Moroto-Kadam
Basin to evaluate its oil and gas potential. There are plans to initiate
similar studies in the Kyoga and Hoima Basins soon. Initial findings suggest
potential for commercial oil and gas in Moroto-Kadam.
While French firm TotalEnergies and Chinese firm
China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) already drilled some wells in the
Tilenga and Kingfisher areas. They expect production by 2025.
