Uganda is expanding its oil exploration efforts, with the government announcing new surveys in two previously unexplored regions.
The government is conducting preliminary studies in the Moroto-Kadam Basin, located in northern Uganda, and the Kyoga Basin in the northeast. Early results from the Moroto-Kadam Basin suggest promising potential for commercial oil and gas reserves.
"The ministry is conducting preliminary petroleum exploration studies in the Moroto-Kadam Basin to assess its oil and gas potential. Similar surveys have started in the Kyoga Basin," Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa said, referring to the two new regions. "Early results suggest the potential for commercial oil and gas in the Moroto-Kadam Basin."
These explorations come as Uganda prepares for the long-awaited commencement of oil production in the Albertine Graben basin, located in the west. This basin, where oil was first discovered nearly two decades ago, will begin production next year.
To facilitate oil exports, Uganda is pushing for the construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), a 1,445-kilometer pipeline that will transport crude to a port on Tanzania's Indian Ocean coast.