Parliamentarians up in the arms over oil production extension

Members of Parliament have lashed out at government for its decision to extend the first oil production period from 2020 to 2022.

The legislators raised the concern during a workshop organised by the Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU) and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development on the current developments in the oil and gas sector in Uganda on Friday at the Lake Victoria Serena in Kigo.

According to parliament.go.ug,the Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga said that the first oil timelines has been extended for too long and this time it should be met.

“There has been an information gap concerning what has been happening in the oil and gas sector and the government has been moving the year for oil production commencement,” she said.

Bunyole West MP James Waluswaka wondered whether the intentions behind the extension of the date of first production were not deliberate.

“I am worried that this might be a deliberate effort by some stakeholders in the sector to politically disenfranchise the fountain of honour who has been promising us oil for some time now,” he said.

Nakasongola District Woman Representative Margaret Komuhangi demanded for  the exact timelines of the establishment of the oil refinery in Hoima District.

“We have been hearing the expected dates of oil production but we will also want to know when the oil refinery will be operational because it is an important piece of infrastructure in this process,” she said.

The government however, came out to clarify on the extended timelines of oil production in the Albertine region.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, Robert Kasande said that oil exploration and production processes are determined by varying factors.

“We thought we would produce earlier when he had only found 300 million barrels but we found 1.4 billion barrels of recoverable oil forcing us back to the drawing board to plan for efficient production of the oil,” he said.

Kasande added that the country is also affected by being landlocked with no oil and gas infrastructure.  He called for more  substantial infrastructure for  production, refining and transportation of the oil.