Uganda Picks Four Firms For New Oil Exploration Round

Original Story Published by: Irina Slav, www.oilprice.com
Photo Source: OilPrice.com

Uganda has shortlisted four companies for an exploration round following its second oil exploration tender ever. The tender involved five oil blocks along Uganda’s border with Congo, where oil has already been discovered, Dow Jones reports.

The companies include France’s Total—which recently changed its name to TotalEnergies—Australian DGR Global, Nigerian PetrolAfrik Energy Resources, and Uganda’s state-owned National Oil Co.

Total has had a presence in Uganda for five years after it was awarded a license to develop several fields that are currently the only producing fields in the country. These are estimated to contain some 6.5 billion barrels of crude. Total is developing them in partnership with Chinese CNOOC.

The French supermajor is also participating in the East-African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project: a 1,443 kilometer-long (897 miles) pipeline expected to transport oil from Uganda to the Tanga port in Tanzania. Total’s subsidiary, Total East Africa Midstream, is the developer of the project.

The pipeline, which will be the largest in Africa, is part of Uganda’s comprehensive plan to develop its oil resources. Later this year, the government plans to launch tenders for the construction work on the infrastructure along with a refinery.