06 January 2014, News Wires – Ugandan regulators are reportedly in the final stages of evaluating proposed field development plans for ten oilfields in the country’s Lake Albertine rift basin.The developments proposed by London-listed Tullow Oil and France’s Total are set to give momentum to the East African country’s long-delayed efforts to commercialise its hydrocarbon resources.
“Tullow has to date submitted field development plans and petroleum reservoir reports for eight discoveries,” the head of the state-run Petroleum Exploration and Production department, Ernest Rubondo, told Dow Jones Newswires.
“Government has reviewed these submissions and is in discussion with Tullow with regard to content of these submissions,” Rubondo added without elaborating further.
An official with Uganda’s energy and minerals ministry told the wire service most of the licenses were likely to be approved within the next six months.
Last September, China National Offshore Oil Corporation was awarded the first Ugandan production licence for its Kingfisher development, where Tullow Oil and Total are also partners.
The CNOOC-led development is expected to produce between 30,000 and 40,000 barrels of oil per day after it comes online in 2017 or 2018.
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