Uganda Puts Five Oil Blocks Up For Licensing

Uganda has put five new blocks on offer for its second licensing round in the Albertine Graben, according to an announcement by the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development Ing. Irene Muloni at the East African Petroleum Conference and Exhibition, Kenya.

Muloni said Uganda was expecting many potential exploration companies for the blocks given that the current price of crude oil was high and very attractive for investment. She added the cost of finding oil in Uganda has been very low at less than a dollar per barrel as compared to the world average of two dollars per barrel. “I am very pleased to announce that my five new brides are ready. They are very attractive and easy to find. I invite investors to come and take them up,” Muloni said.

The Minister went on to say that the investment climate in Uganda was very conducive for investment singling out peace and security, infrastructure development, tax incentives and a good human resource made of youthful and educated population.

The five blocks are; Avivi with an area coverage of 1026 sq km, Omuka (750 sq km), Kasuruban (1,285 sq km), Turaco (637 sq km) and Ngaji (1,230 sq km).

“Following this announcement, the Ministry will issue a Request for Qualification (RFQ) inviting interested firms and/or consortia to submit applications within a period of six months. Upon evaluation of the applications the successful firms/consortia will be issued with bidding documents comprising the model production sharing agreement and data sale regulations among others,” Muloni added.

The bidding process will take five months and result in the negotiations and signing of production sharing agreements between Government and the successful bidders. The licensing round is expected to be concluded with the award of Petroleum Exploration Licenses to successful firms by December 2020.

Source: petroleumafrica.com