Members\nof Parliament led by the Speaker, Rebecca Kadaga have questioned the extension\nof the first oil production from 2020 to 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nlegislators raised these concerns during a workshop organised by the Petroleum\nAuthority of Uganda (PAU) and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development on\nthe current developments in the oil and gas sector in Uganda on Friday, 01\nFebruary 2018 at the Lake Victoria Serena in Kigo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kadaga\nsaid that the first oil timelines have been extended for too long and this time\nit should be met.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere has been an information gap concerning\nwhat has been happening in the oil and gas sectorand the government has been\nmoving the year for oil production commencement,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hon.\nJames Waluswaka (NRM, Bunyole West) wondered whether the intentions behind the\nextension of the date of first production were not deliberate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\nam worried that this might be a deliberate effort by some stakeholders in the\nsector to politically disenfranchise the fountain of honour who has been\npromising us oil for some time now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nakasongola\nDistrict Woman Representative, Hon Margaret Komuhangi demanded for the exact\ntimelines of the establishment of the oil refinery in Hoima District.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\nhave been hearing the expected dates of oil production but we will also want to\nknow when the oil refinery will be operational because it is an important piece\nof infrastructure in this process,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\ngovernment however, came out to clarify on the extended timelines of oil\nproduction in the Albertine region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nPermanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, Robert\nKasande said that oil exploration and production processes are determined by\nvarying factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\nthought we would produce earlier when he had only found 300 million barrels but\nwe found 1.4 billion barrels of recoverable oil forcing us back to the drawing\nboard to plan for efficient production of the oil,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kasande\nadded that the country is also affected by being landlocked with no oil and gas\ninfrastructure. he called for more\nsubstantial infrastructure for production, refining and transportation of the\noil<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\nhad to involve Kenya and Tanzania who have promised to invest in the pipeline\nand these agreements took time as well,\u201d Kasande added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr\nHans Christopher, from Norway\u2019s NORAD explained that the revision of timelines\nfor oil production has not only happened in Uganda. This, he said, gives the country time to plan\nbetter, and understand the technical nature of the oil fields before\nproduction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However,\nthe PAU Executive Director, Ernest Rubondo said that more emphasis should be\nput on the efficient execution of the processes supporting the oil production\nthan the first oil timeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe\nfocus is ensuring that all necessary infrastructures are put in place to\nfacilitate oil production, all stakeholders in other sectors are in involved in\nthe petroleum development process and the interests of the government are\nprotected,\u201d Rubondo said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This\nhe added, is important because Ugandans must prepare to retain a significant\nportion of the US$20 billion investment required in to develop the facilities\nrequired to produce the oil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Currently,\nthere are two projects under the supervision of PAU called Tilenga and\nKingfisher with the ability to produce 40,000 and 190,000 barrels of oil\nrespectively. Tilenga is operated by Total E&P Uganda while Kingfisher is\noperated by CNOOC Uganda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\nis a planned construction of an oil refinery, Kabaale industrial park\nInternational Airport in Hoima District. A 1445 kilometre oil pipeline will be\nconstructed from Hoima to Tanga in Tanzania to carry crude oil for exportation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Government\u2019s\ncommercial interests in these projects are managed by the Uganda National Oil\nCompany.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Members of Parliament led by the Speaker, Rebecca Kadaga have questioned the extension of the first oil production from 2020 to 2022. The legislators raised these concerns during a workshop organised by the Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU) and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development on the current developments in the oil and gas […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27983,"featured_media":7936,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_paywall_metabox":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[101],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"yoast_head":"\n