A view of Lake Albert
Cnooc to start drilling in Uganda
Kampala is bullish about the country’s upstream future
Uganda may be able start producing oil from its Lake Albert developments ahead of schedule. Chinese state-controlled Cnooc will start drilling for oil on the Kingfisher field in February. Cnooc’s drilling “will enable Uganda to pump out 40,000bl/d in 2024, ahead of the June 2025 deadline the country set for first oil commercial production”, state-owned Uganda National Oil Company (Unoc) says. The Chinese firm erected the rig at Buhuka Flat last November. Cnooc (with 28.33pc) is partnered with Unoc (15pc) and French major TotalEnergies (56.67pc) in the Lake Albert development, which will send oil along the planned East Africa Crude Pipeline (Eacop) for export via the Tanzanian port of Tanga.
Also in this section
28 April 2025
Rewards offered by investment in the sector must be balanced by its energy consumption amid an increasingly gas-hungry domestic market
25 April 2025
PetroChina, Sinopec and CNOOC are aiming to rebalance their energy mixes but face technically difficult deepwater and shale task
25 April 2025
EACOP has overcome a significant hurdle, with a group of regional banks providing an initial financing tranche for a scheme that has attracted criticism from environmental campaigners
24 April 2025
The government hopes industry reforms can drive ambitious upstream plans
