Prime
We shall use oil resources responsibly — Museveni
President Museveni (2nd left) launches commercial drilling of Kingfisher oil field in Kikuube District on January 24, 2023. PHOTO/FRANCIS MUGERWA
What you need to know:
- A CPF, full for Central Processing Facility, is where oil will be stored first for stabilisation and treatment before being fed into either the proposed refinery or pipeline
President Museveni’s field day in Kikuube District to flag off spudding of Kingfisher oil fields also included commissioning of an oil waste treatment facility and construction equipment for National Enterprise Corporation (NEC) that will be used during construction of a CPF.
A CPF, full for Central Processing Facility, is where oil will be stored first for stabilisation and treatment before being fed into either the proposed refinery or pipeline.
One CPF is planned at the Kingfisher Field Development Area (KDFA) operated by Cnooc Uganda Ltd in Hoima District.
A second CPF will be developed at TotalEnergies EP’s industrial park in Buliisa District.
Speaking during the spudding ceremony yesterday, President Museveni said the oil projects are a success for Uganda, recapping how he opted to first train Ugandan scientists rather than rushing into signing oil agreements with Shell, days after he had shot to power 37 years ago.
“This should be a lesson to all leaders to avoid bumping into issues of Africa. These are public issues,” Mr Museveni told the gathering at Nsonga A Village in Kikuube.
The ceremony was attended by political leaders, security chiefs, religious leaders, government technocrats, oil investors, Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom Prime Minister Andrew Byakutaga and the ambassadors of China and Tanzania to Uganda.
President Museveni hailed China and France for supporting Uganda’s oil projects and said he told the European Union Parliament “to go to hell”.
In September last year, the EU Parliament called for halting of drilling activities in the Murchison Falls National Park and postponement of work on the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) for at least one year to study the feasibility of an alternative route that would preserve the environment and consider other projects based on renewable energy.
The MPs also called for an end to human rights violations, including the immediate release of human rights defenders arrested in an arbitrary manner.
They also called for prompt, fair and adequate compensation for those expropriated or deprived of access to their land by the EACOP project.
The Ugandan government shot back dismissing the EU resolution describing the resolution as baseless and unfounded.
Handling
Mr Museveni yesterday said carbon generated from oil projects will not be a problem if handled well.
He said the government will develop the country’s oil sector while at the same time develop renewable energy sources from solar and wind.
“We shall use oil resources responsibly” the President said.
He was briefed by the Energy ministry that the country plans to explore more oil resources in the Albertine graben, Moroto-Kadama basin, Kyoga basin and in the Hoima basin.
He advised Ugandans to produce food massively and tap into the market provided by the oil workers.
“All people working in oil need food. Grow enough food so that they buy it from you,” Mr Museveni said.
