Uganda exploring for oil in new regions

KAMPALA, August 21, 2024 – Uganda’s energy minister said in a press briefing on Wednesday that the country is exploring for oil in two new regions.

Minister of Energy and Mineral Development Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu said in a mid-year media briefing on the oil and gas sector in Kampala that, decades after finding oil in the prolific Lake Albert region, the government has launched new exploration in the country’s north and northeast.

“The ministry is conducting preliminary petroleum exploration studies in the Moroto-Kadam Basin to assess its oil and gas potential,” she said. “Similar surveys have started in the Kyoga Basin, with plans to initiate studies in the Hoima Basin soon.”

“Early results suggest the potential for commercial oil and gas in the Moroto-Kadam Basin,” the minister added.

Read our latest interview with Minister Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu here.

Beyond boosting national oil and gas reserves, the new exploration efforts are expected to extend production beyond 25 years and enhance the viability of the country’s oil-related developments, including a refinery and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).

EACOP will be the world’s longest electrically heated pipeline, enabling Uganda to export its viscous hydrocarbons via Tanzania.

The minister also made reference to several contract areas where exploration licences had previously been granted and technical studies are now ongoing, including Kanywataba, Kasuruban, Turaco and the Ngassa Deep & Shallow Play.

In June, the Ugandan government announced it had more than doubled its budget for oil industry spending for the coming year – to USD 246 million – with investment primarily slated for the EACOP.

Uganda is estimated to hold around 6.5 billion barrels of reserves, around 1.4 billion barrels of which are recoverable.

Photo courtesy of Minister of Energy and Mineral Development Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu on X.