On politics of Uganda’s oil and gas industry

What you need to know:

  • EACOP will initially pump and carry petroleum and gas from the Tilenga and Kingfisher projects located in Bunyoro, but Uganda’s richest oilfields are located in the Albertine Graben which is in Acholi and West Nile, along both sides of River Nile.

On April 11, Uganda, Tanzania, Total and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (Cnooc) signed three agreements at State House Entebbe to develop Uganda’s oil and gas resources located in Bunyoro, Acholi and West Nile sub-regions.

The agreements which were subject of protracted negotiations for almost 15 years are the first concrete steps in efforts by the two EAC partner states to construct the 1443km East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) from Hoima to the Tanzanian port of Tanga. When completed, at a cost of $3.8 billion, it will be the longest heated pipeline in the world.

EACOP will initially pump and carry petroleum and gas from the Tilenga and Kingfisher projects located in Bunyoro, but Uganda’s richest oilfields are located in the Albertine Graben which is in Acholi and West Nile, along both sides of River Nile.

Contrary to what Sabalwanyi said in his speech at Entebbe on April 11, Uganda’s oil was discovered in the 1920s during the British colonial regime. In a report titled ‘Petroleum in Uganda,’ the existence of oil along the shores of Lake Albert was documented in 1925 by EJ Wayland, a geologist of the colonial regime.

In the presence of president Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania, ministers from Tanzania and Uganda and several distinguished guests, Sabalwanyi proclaimed, without shame, that Uganda’s oil and gas were discovered in 2006 by the NRM regime.

In recent times, a comprehensive aeromagnetic survey was done in 1983, by the second UPC government led by president Milton Obote, to identify areas with hydrocarbons in the Albertine Graben. Another aeromagnetic survey was done jointly by Uganda and DRC in 1983 or 1984 of Lake Albert, which contains rich deposits of oil and gas.

Serious exploration and exploitation of Uganda’s oilfields started in 1984, but was suspended because of a reactionary military coup which happened on July 27, 1985, followed by another military coup on January 25, 1986.

The pipeline was originally intended to run from Hoima via Acholi, Lango, Karamoja and Turkana regions and finally to the Kenyan port of Lamu, but for unknown reasons the original plan was changed unilaterally to the chagrin of the government of Kenya.

The irony of it is that the route via Kenya is shorter and cheaper than the route via Tanzania, which raises many intriguing, troubling and unanswered questions.
On behalf of the silent majority, I would like to state clearly for the record that Uganda’s oil and gas resources belong to all Ugandans and the proceeds accruing from the same must be shared fairly and equitably.

Second, the Government of Uganda must immediately publish all agreements signed at Entebbe on April 11 and subsequent agreements.  Third, the people of Uganda demand and deserve transparency and accountability from the government, Uganda National Oil Company and Petroleum Authority of Uganda.

Good governance, integrity and the rule of law are necessary to ensure that Uganda’s oil and gas will be a blessing, not a curse for our beloved country. Aluta continua!

 Mr Acemah is a political scientist and retired career diplomat.
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