Uganda to Announce Oil Blocks Licensing Round in May
(Reuters) — Uganda said on Friday it plans to announce a third oil licensing round in May in an effort to further develop a sector on track to produce its first oil in 2025.
Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu said in a statement detailing developments in the sector that the next licensing round would be announced at a regional petroleum conference due to take place in Uganda's capital Kampala in May.
She did not say how many blocks would be put up for auction.
The East African country discovered commercial hydrocarbon deposits near its western border with Democratic Republic of Congo in 2006. Production is projected to begin in 2025.
Uganda is also developing a crude export pipeline and a domestic crude refinery that will help to commercialize the country's oil resources.
RELATED: Uganda Approves Construction for 898-Mile Crude Pipeline Costing $3.5 Billion
A U.S. firm, Albertine Graben Energy Consortium Partners (AGEC), is planning to build and operate a $4.5 billion, 60,000 barrel-per-day refinery to produce a range of refined products and liquefied petroleum gas for the regional market.
It will also build a 213-km (130-mile) refined products pipeline from the oilfields to storage facilities near Kampala.
Ssentamu said a final investment decision on the refinery was expected this year.
She added the pipeline and refinery would be developed concurrently and "when both projects are operational, the refinery will have the first call on crude oil".
All of Uganda's existing oilfields are jointly owned by France's TotalEnergies, China's CNOOC and the state-run Uganda National Oil Company.
Related News
Related News
- Repsol Ditches Plans to Develop LNG Terminal on Canada’s East Coast
- Kazakh Oil Decouples from Russian Crude But Risk Weighs on Price
- Pipeline Operator TC Energy Says Stress, Weld Fault Caused Keystone Oil Spill
- US to Sell 26 Million Barrels of Oil Reserves As Mandated by Congress
- Ukraine to Jointly Buy Gas with European Union Countries
- Company Cancels Byhalia Connection Pipeline Project
- US Intelligence Suggests Pro-Ukrainian Group Sabotaged Nord Stream Pipelines -NYT
- EIA: US Natural Gas Output to Hit Record High in 2023, Demand to Fall
- US Regulator Orders Lower Pressure on Keystone Pipeline System After Spill
- US Carbon Pipeline Faces Setback as Residents Refuse to Cede Land Rights
Comments