STRENGTHENING MEDIA OVERSIGHT OF UGANDA'S NASCENT GAS & OIL SECTOR
ACME TRAINING K'LA OCTOBER 2013
Total Oil Company which is engaged in Oil exploration and
production (E&P) in Uganda has reiterated its concern and care for the
environment, flora and Fauna as it prospects for oil in the Albertine graben in
Western Uganda. While presenting a paper
on Total operations in the Albertine graben to a cross section of News editors
during a capacity building workshop in Kampala, Total’s Corporate Affairs
Manager Ahlem Friga-Noy said her company has high technology drilling machines
that are meant to minimize negative impact on the environment. Madam Ahlem
Friga-Noy says her company compiled a bio-diversity baseline data bank and what
she termed as an avoidance map of key features since oil exploration is being
done in an area rich in bio-diversity. Friga-Noy further said that Total is
very keen on the local content in a sense that 86% of the people they are
employing in Uganda are Ugandans and added that Total is giving away international
scholarships with pre-employment contract that binds the beneficiaries to work
with the oil company after completing their studies. She further said that
Total has also come up with a scholarship program for a few chosen “O” level
students in their area of operation.
Meanwhile, Uganda is at cross-roads over the construction of
an oil refinery in Uganda with some experts arguing that the project may not
make economic sense in the long run. However, the government of Uganda is
determined to build a refinery in Kabale Hoima starting with the initial capacity
of 30,000 barrels per day (bpd) which will be up scaled to produce 60,000bpd
when the country’s production goes higher. Reports say, a pipeline to transport finished
oil from Kabale refinery to Buloba on the outskirts of kampala will be
constructed a distance of about 205Km.
Addressing the same workshop which was organized by African
Center for Media Excellence-ACME in Kampala, Fred Kabanda-a principal geologist
and head of regulatory unit Petroleum Exploration and Production department in
the ministry of energy and mineral development said the ministry is being
restructured to create three directorates of which the directorate of Petroleum
will have and upstream,Midstream and downstream departments for effective administration
of the nascent oil and gas sector. Reliable sources say Uganda’s oil is too waxy
unlike that of Ghana and besides, once oil is processed into finished products,
it may not be exported unlike the crude oil due to the volatility and insurance
expenses involved.
No comments:
Post a Comment