Oil and gas investments to hit $20b before production starts

Investments in the oil and gas industry will hit $20b, between now and when Uganda eventually starts producing oil in 2020, the year earmarked for when the first barrel of the country's oil will be pumped out of the ground.

"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 to have almost all its GDP invested in it in four years," said Ernest Rubondo, the Executive Director of the Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU).

Speaking at an educative forum organized by the Society for Profession Engineers (SPE) to provide an update on the status of oil and gas developments in Uganda in Kampala, Rubondo stresses the need for seriousness among industry stakeholders in the industry as Uganda prepares for the 2020 magic date.

"2020 is the commencement of producing oil from the ground.  It is very important to us because the country starts earning revenue, but also the companies that have invested begin to have a return on their investment," he said.

"As we aspire to the first day when oil comes out of the ground, let us begin to pay attention to what happens between now and when oil comes out of the ground because it will be extremely important if this country is going to benefit from this oil."

Uganda is yet to start oil production, a decade since the first commercially viable oil deposits were confirmed in 2006.