Uganda launches first oil drilling programme
By AFP
Uganda on Tuesday officially launched an oil drilling programme as it seeks to join the club of crude-producing nations with a mega-project that has incensed environmental groups.
The Kingfisher field is part of a $10 billion scheme to develop Uganda’s oil reserves under a lake in the west of the country and build a vast pipeline to ship the crude to international markets via an Indian Ocean port in Tanzania.
“The president (Yoweri Museveni) has officially commissioned the start of drilling campaign on the Kingfisher oilfield,” the Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU) said on Twitter, describing the development as a “milestone”.
Uganda’s first oil is expected to flow in 2025 — almost two decades after reserves were discovered in one of the world’s most biodiverse regions.
The Kingfisher field, operated by the state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), is expected to produce 40,000 barrels of oil per day at its peak, PAU said. Read more