Oil drilling: Congratulations Uganda, CNOOC and NRM

By Amlan Tumusiime

Uganda is on Tuesday witnessing major milestones in the oil and gas sector. CNOOC Uganda Limited is spudding or commencing the drilling of oil for the Kingfisher oil field at Buhuka in Kyangwali sub-county in Kikuube district. This historical ceremony is to be presided over by President Yoweri Museveni.

This comes after the arrival of the rig and its setup. CNOOC is now ready to commence drilling in order to deliver the first oil by 2025.

This is incredible and special thanks go to President Museveni, Parliament, CNOOC and all the people of Uganda, including the local community of Buhuka where the project is being undertaken for the cooperation, support and good working relationship they have with the project.

The commencement of drilling at Kingfisher oil fields correlates with this year’s 37th NRA/NRM liberation day anniversary celebration’s theme: “Our resolute efforts to transform Uganda is a promise we shall fulfil”. This means the NRM Government walks the talk.

Even before the commencement of drilling, many Ugandans, including the local community, are already benefiting from the oil resource through employment opportunities and the provision of basic social services such as the construction of health centres, safe and clean water and other services like sports and games to the communities.

These services are provided to the community by CNOOC as part of their corporate social responsibility.

Being the area RDC, I keep monitoring and supervising the processes as part of my roles. I salute CNOOC for its wonderful engagement with the community.

On the same day, tomorrow, the President is also expected to commission the waste management, treatment and disposal facility constructed by Luwero Industries Limited; a subsidiary commercial arm of Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF). The facility is located at Ikamiro -A- Village, Kyangwali Parish, Kyangwali sub-county in Kibuube.

The Luwero Industries Limited was contracted by Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) and approved by the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) and regulated by the Petroleum Authority of Uganda.

The facility will offer services, including Kingfisher drilling and completion, waste collection, transportation, treatment and disposal services. The project adopts a two-stage counter current external heat indirect thermal desorption treatment technology for oily waste.

This technology achieves particle homogenisation, water content reduction and impurity removal through effective screening.

Solids realise partial evaporation of water in the upper drying chamber.

The dried solids enter the lower layer and heat further to 450 to 600 o C to evaporate and desorborganic matter.

Evaporated organic matter and water vapour enter the cooling system to liquefy and then enter the water treatment unit for oil-water separation, filtration and purification. Non-condensate gas is recycled to the combustion chamber.

The separated oil is effectively collected and recycled. All this work has been done by the UPDF engineers.

Incredible work showing value for money is easily noticed. About 90% of the workforce was locally sourced.

A good number of the construction materials were also purchased from the local community hence empowering them economically.

Looking at the beauty of this oil waste management facility, one doesn’t need to doubt the capacity of the UPDF’s vision of being professional, well-trained, equipped and accountable to the people.

During the inspection of this facility on Friday, I told the general manager of Luwero Industries, Major General Mzee Sabiiti, that if this project was given to private construction firms, too much shoddy work would have been done.

The UPDF being accountable to the people has a nationalistic spirit; a reason why they are succeeding in every mission they are assigned.

Apart from doing their cardinal duty of preserving, defending and protecting the people and their property and also protecting the sovereignty of the country, the UPDF also performs other nationalistic duties like the construction of Government facilities which are durable, but also cost-effective. The UPDF is now fighting food insecurity at Ikamiro – A - Village, where the waste management, treatment and disposal facility is built; it is a stone's throw from Kyangwali UPDF farm, where the UPDF has planted over 5sq miles of maize and all this is intended to fight food insecurity.

About one month ago, three ministers of Defense led by Vincent Ssempijja were amazed by the seriousness of the UPDF officers on the ground.

Interestingly, three of the UPDF farm managers are private but have degree holders in agricultural-related courses.

UPDF is truly a force to be proud of; a reason why in 2016 the global firepower online rating ranked it 16th in Africa as one of the most powerful armies.

I want to believe that if GFP was to carry fresh ratings for 2023, the UPDF would score more highly.

Looking at Ikamiro - A - Village facility constructed by the UPDF, every Ugandan needs to support President Museveni’s decision to have Government projects constructed by UPDF because it is the only way the country will save money and also get quality work done.

The construction of the waste management, and treatment disposal facility has exposed the ignorance of some of our opposition politicians like Robert Kyagulanyi and Joseph Kabuleeta, who have been misleading Ugandans that the country has already been exporting crude oil, but also the commencement of drilling has exposed them more.

Crude oil is the reason Government is in the process of constructing the East African Crude Oil Pipeline from Kabale in Hoima to Port of Tanga in Tanzania because crude oil is transported through heated pipelines. It is even economically viable to do it that way.

People like Kyagulanyi are ignorant about oil and gas issues a reason they think oil can be transported anyhow like water or banana juice.

They are the same people who don’t wish this country well and keep telling lies that some people have been made homeless because of the oil and gas-related activities in Bunyoro.

It is not true; those are lies under the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project. All the project-affected persons have been compensated either by getting cash for those who opted for cash or those who opted for houses that have received decent housing. The few who have not yet been compensated are because of family disagreements so, the delay is not on EACOP.

As leaders, we shall keep supporting oil companies so that they can give us the first drop of oil by 2025.

We shall also continue mobilising the population to grow food so that they supply the oil companies and get cash to fight household poverty.

We congratulate Uganda, CNOOC and the NRM Government for tomorrow’s milestone achievement when CNOOC commences the drilling operations at Kingfisher.

God Bless Uganda.

The writer is RDC Kikuube district