Govt assessing production plans for oil companies

By Jeff Lule

The Government is in the final stages of appraising the Field Production Plans submitted by various oil producing firms.

The undersecretary in the energy ministry, Roland Gyagenda, said the ministry is at a critical stage of appraising the plans to make sure the country makes no mistakes that might affect Ugandans.

He called on stakeholders to be tolerant to avoid mistakes that might make Ugandans lose the benefits of oil production.

Gyagenda was speaking at the end of a three-days tour of the Albertine Graben.

Three companies; Tullow Oil Uganda, Total E&P Uganda and CNOOC Uganda submitted production plans.

Gyagenda noted that the production plans will be scrutinised to address the environmental and economic issues.

“It does not help Ugandans if we rush to approve the plans with omissions. We do not want regrets after a few years of production,” he added.

Gyagenda said the oil is for all Ugandans and wide consultations need to be done to have all concerns addressed.

“We do not want to make mistakes and 10 years down the road Ugandans start blaming us for having hurried,” he noted.

He also called on oil companies to support the construction of the oil refinery in Uganda.

Gyagenda noted that according to studies, having the refinery in the country is viable.

About 27 hectares of land have been secured for the construction of the refinery in Kabale sub-county, Hoima district.

“Though most oil companies supported the construction of the oil pipeline to have the oil refined out of the country, we insist that the refinery should be situated in Uganda for citizens to enjoy the benefits of the resource,” he added.

Meanwhile, Tullow Uganda has completed the construction of a waste management site at Ngara oil well, where all the waste in the Buliisa area will be collected and stored until safer ways of disposal are recommended and approved by the National Environment Management Authority.

The Tullow Oil Uganda environmental officer, Dan Muyinza, denied allegations that the company was contaminating the environment with its waste, saying both the liquid and solid waste generated were stored at the site and NEMA is supervising the disposal exercise.

He said Tullow is inviting local companies with experience in the management of waste to do business with them.