China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has won the first four-year oil production license for US$2bn to develop the Kingfisher area in the Albertine region, Uganda
Uganda minister of state for mineral development Peter Lokeris estimated the Kingfisher area holds 635mn barrels of crude, of which 196mn barrels are recoverable, Bloomberg reported.
The Ugandan government will have a 15 per cent interest in the Kingfisher area as soon as production starts, Lokeris said.
According to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report, the East African country has sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest oil reserves after Nigeria, Angola and South Sudan.
Uganda also has plans to feed some of the crude to an upcoming refinery, which would result in a reduction of energy imports.
The minister said that the oilfield will pump 30,000 bpd to 40,000 bpd, which is expected to double in the near-term.
Lokeris said that the production is expected to be achieved by drilling 40 development wells and a 50km pipeline to the new refinery, due for completion by 2018.
“The development of Kingfisher will also result in the production of gas, which will be used in power plants in the region,” Lokeris added.
The Kingfisher area is jointly owned by CNOOC, Tullow Oil and Total.
