By Ebi Kesiena
The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, Ms Irene Batebe, has assured Ugandans that proceeds from the oil and gas sector will be well- utilised to facilitate sustainable development for all Ugandans.
While speaking at the 10th edition of the East Africa Petroleum Conference and Exhibition in Kampala on Tuesday, Ms Batebe explained that the government has put in place the Oil and Gas Revenue Management Policy that will guide utilization of oil and gas revenue.
According to the Perm Sec, there has been talk around revenue management and the need to ensure that the revenue creates lasting value.
Also speaking, Oil and gas expert, Mr Elly Karuhanga, as quoted by the Uganda Media Center, reiterated Uganda’s commitment to have first oil out by 2025, and appealed to civil society and environmental activities to cease being a stumbling block to that target.
Further information from the Petroleum Authority (PAU) Website indicates that, expected revenues through the agreed fiscal regime after first oil, from the three main projects- upstream, Eacop and refinery- will hit a total of $69.7b (Shs 257t) over the projects’ life and an average of $ 2.8b (shs 10t) per year.
Uganda discovered 6.5 billion barrels of crude oil in the Albertine Graben. The government earned Shs577.4 million tax revenue from five Oil Companies licensed in the country. In the same period, Shs28 billion ($ 7.6m) was received from the Oil and Gas Sector in form of Non-Tax Revenue (NTR).
In 2019, the government used Shs200b from the Petroleum Fund, where revenue from all petroleum-related activities is deposited to finance the budget.
But with a bulging debt burden, a consistently growing cost of administration, and the seemingly inescapable corruption, there have been concerns on whether Ugandans will feel the proportionate impact of the much touted petroleum sector in transforming the economy.
Other discussions to dominate the three-day biennial East Africa Petroleum Conference and Exhibition which stared today include, Africa and climate change and the continent’s need to find adaptation measures, according to the Uganda National Oil Company statement on Twitter.
Some Oil and gas sector projects like the Pipeline from Hoima to Tanzania, have faced resistance from activists who argue it will negatively affect nature and pause human rights abuses to the residents along its route.
With the theme, “East Africa as a hub for investment and Exploitation of petroleum resources for sustainable energy and social economic development.” the Conference is a platform for the EAC countries to showcase their potential in the sector, and facilitate “deliberations on energy and socioeconomic development”.
