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HOIMA - A senior secondary school student has been declared winner of a drawing competition at Kingfisher Oilfield, where Uganda is scheduled to have its first commercial oil exploration by mid-2025.

Paul Bethuel Aliker, a Senior Five student of St. Andrea Kaahwa’s College in Hoima district came best out of six selected performers in a competition that attracted 30 students from 17 schools from Hoima and Kikuube districts.

The Kingfisher Oilfield Drawing Competition was organized by the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), which is developing the Kingfisher oil and gas project on the shores of Lake Albert, one of the country’s key oil and gas projects. 

Several students were awarded after the Kingfisher Oilfield competition. (All Photos by Eddie Ssejjoba)

The Kingfisher Oilfield has total oil reserves of 6b barrels, out of which 1.4b barrels are recoverable oil, with four well pads and 31 wells. It has a potential daily production of 40,000 barrels per day it starts production. 

The students, facilitated with all the required art and drawing tools, were placed at a strategic point in the middle of the Buhuka cliff, adjacent to the Kingfisher oilfield, and were tasked to make drawings, under the theme, “The Beauties of Kingfisher in Your Eyes.”

Lin Yagun (C), and wife to the Chinese ambassador to Uganda Zhang Lizhong with one of the female students who was awarded.

The features of the valley include the Kingfisher Towers, residences of the project workers, communities, the beautiful shores of Lake Albert, and the Central Processing Facility (CPF), which is being developed to process crude oil before it is transported to the oil and gas industrial park in Kabaale, Hoima district from where it would be transported through a pipeline to the port of Tanga in Tanzania.    

Paul Bethuel Aliker, a Senior Five student of Saint Andrea Kaahwa’s College in Hoima district was announced the overall winner out of the six best competitors and received a trophy and other accolades handed over by the guest of honor at the ceremony, the Chinese counsellor minister, Fan Xuecheng.

Other students who were recognized included Apron Murungi, George William Ainawe, Luke Sima, John Luis Aturinda, and Proscovia Karungi. The rest of the 24 students were also given prizes.

The competition was supervised by Bruno Tusingwire Ruganzu, an artist and lecturer at Kyambogo University School of Art and Design who conceived the concept, and Lin Yagun, wife to the Chinese ambassador to Uganda Zhang Lizhong, who is also an artist.

The ceremony was attended by Liu Xiangdong, the President of CNOOC Uganda.

The students, facilitated with all the required art and drawing tools, were placed at a strategic point in the middle of the Buhuka cliff, adjacent to the Kingfisher oilfield, and were tasked to make drawings, under the theme, “The Beauties of Kingfisher in Your Eyes.”

Prior, a team of journalists picked from various media houses in Uganda were taken for a tour of the Kingfisher Oil and Gas project and were given a chance to interact with some of the community members who have benefited from the Projected Affected Persons (PAPs) and CNOOC constructed for their new houses.

Speaking at the event, Xuecheng said that by the end of 2023, the Chinese enterprises had invested over $748m in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and created tens of thousands of jobs for Ugandans.

He said, for example, that CNOOC, which employs more than 3,500 local workers, is currently one of the largest Chinese investors in Uganda and is scheduled to have Uganda’s first barrel of oil from the Kingfisher oilfield.

The company, he explained, is expected to recruit over 160,000 new jobs as construction progresses.

In addition, Xuecheng explained, CNOOC had continuously increased its investment and support for local education, medical care, employment, and environmental protection, as well as helped local economic and social development.

“In CNOOC Uganda, we see a fine example of a Chinese company that does not only work for profits but also works for win-win results with the local communities,” he stated.

Liu Xiangdong, the CNOOC Uganda President said that the drawing competition was organized to engage ‘the brilliant minds of students’ and a canvas for the youths to express their perceptions and artistic visions of the Kingfisher oilfield project.

“Our objective is to highlight the talents hidden within these young artists to foster a deeper understanding and awareness of the Kingfisher Project and its impacts to strengthen the bonds between Uganda and China, reinforcing our shared goals of development and mutual respect,” he explained.

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Some of the prizes that were given to studets after the competition.

Several guests were in attendance.

Paul Bethuel Aliker, a Senior Five student of St. Andrea Kaahwa’s College in Hoima district won the drawing competition.

Counsellor minister at the embassy of China hands over a trophy to the winner.

Students during a drawing competition.

The Kingfisher Oilfield.

Touring the Kingfisher Oilfield.