Visit Uganda: The oilfield edition

The Ugandan oil project consists of Tilenga and Kingfisher oil fields. The Kingfisher oil field is located in Kikuube District and is operated by the Chinese oil giant CNOOC. The Tilenga oil fields are located in Buliisa and Nwoya districts and operated by TotalEnergies.

The Tilenga project in Uganda is the development of six oil fields within the Albertine Graben. A total of 426 oil wells will be drilled in Tilenga. By any account, this is a large number of wells. In order to limit the overall footprint of the project and ensure that we don’t have 426 sites, the oil wells will be drilled on what are called well pads. Instead of 426 sites, there will be 31 well pads to limit the project footprint.

From the well pads there will be directional drilling to access the oil wells and extract the oil. The Kingfisher oil field will have four well pads to access 31 oil wells. There will be two central processing facilities, one at Tilenga and one at Kingfisher, where the crude oil will be separated from water, dust and where the gas will be converted into Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) which will go a long way in helping the fight against deforestation, Uganda’s largest carbon emitter. 

The fields are estimated to produce 230,000 barrels per day. The crude will then be put in feeder lines and taken to the Kaabale Industrial Park in Hoima. At the park, 60,000 barrels will go to a refinery and the remaining barrels will go into the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (Eacop) where the oil will be transported to the port at Tanga in Tanzania.

Eacop will be another crude oil pipeline in the region after the Tazama pipeline which also traverses Tanzania and is 1,710km. Eacop will be 1,443km and will be an “intelligent pipeline system” with fibre optic cables, sensors, block valves and insulation heated mainly by solar energy. The oil project will be one of the lowest emitting oil projects in the world, emitting less than 13kg of carbon for every barrel of oil against a global average of 33kg of carbon per barrel oil thanks to in part new technologies and new regulations.

The Tilenga project does indeed go into the Murchison Falls National Park. Many oil fields exist in game parks. There are, for example, at least 534 active oil wells in 12 units of the US park system. In Uganda’s case, TotalEnergies and the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) are working to ensure there is a net gain on the biodiversity of the park. At a recent meeting, it was announced that already with the support of the oil players, more than 1,000 poacher traps have been removed from the park.

It is clear that whereas the project will provide numerous benefits to the country’s economy, including job creation, revenue generation, and improved infrastructure, it is also being developed in the most sustainable manner.

While the Tilenga and Kingfisher oilfields, the Kaabale Industrial Park and the Eacop route have attracted a lot of debate and criticism they have also had another interesting benefit. In 2022, the Tilenga oil field alone received almost 1,000 guests who had travelled to see the project. In the first six weeks of 2023, more than 200 people have visited the sites. Some of them were journalists, NGOs, diplomats, students and critics making the oil fields some of the most visited oil fields in the world. Doomsday theorists claimed that the project will send away tourists and yet it seems to have recorded its fair share of travellers.

Uganda’s tourism campaign “Visit Uganda” aims to promote Uganda as a top tourist destination in Africa, highlighting the country’s natural beauty, cultural heritage, and unique experiences for travellers.

The development of Uganda’s oil industry has the potential to create new opportunities for the country’s tourism sector. With increased economic growth and investment, Uganda’s tourism industry can benefit from improved infrastructure, increased marketing, and expanded tourism offerings.

The oil industry can provide a valuable source of investment and revenue for Uganda’s tourism sector. We should all promote the country’s economic growth and sustainability by showcasing how the energy and tourism industries can coexist and benefit each other. These projects and our continued transformation provide a very good reason to #VisitUganda.

The writer is an advocate and partner at Kampala Associated Advocates

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