Oil and gas local content summit slated for February 21st

What is in it for the local firms in Uganda's nascent oil and gas industry? This is one question that has been on the lips of many since Uganda discovered oil in commercially viable quantities more than a decade ago.

The Stanbic Bank 4th annual local content conference 2017 will take place on February 21 at the Kampala Serena Hotel; will focus on opportunities in the oil and gas industry.

"At the conference, we shall deliberate how local service providers can position themselves to benefit from this resource," Emmanuel Mugarura, the chief executive officer of the Association of Uganda Oil and Gas Service Providers told the New Vision.

The guest speaker at the conference will be Tonye Tamuno, the President/CEO of Primetek Nigeria.

After a period of somewhat slow activity in the oil and gas industry, many expect the sector to start making serious strides this year after government granting production licenses to Total E and P Uganda, Tullow Uganda last year, bringing to nine the number of licenses issued. CNOOC Uganda was granted a production license earlier.

After Uganda and Tanzania launched the design study for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), more progress is anticipated this year on critical infrastructure such as the export pipelines and the refinery.

Speaking at an educative forum organized by the Society for Petroleum Engineers (SPE) in December, Ernest Rubondo, the Executive Director of the Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU) said massive investments are going to be ploughed in the oil and gas industry before production eventually starts.

What is going to happen to Uganda between now and 2020 is extremely important, and it needs to be done well. Between now and the time when oil gets out of the ground, it is expected that $20b will be invested in this country, the GDP of this country is $27b, you are therefore talking about a country that has the potential of to have almost all its GDP invested in it in four years."