SA co strikes oil in Uganda
2003-04-02 22:50
Kampala - A consortium of Canadian and South African companies said Wednesday they had found potentially huge reserves of oil in western Uganda.
"The results of the well have vindicated the hydrocarbon potential of the basin and demonstrated the presence of a mature oil source, reservoir and seal," Heritage Oil and Gas and Energy Africa, said in a news release.
The companies have been exploring for oil since September in a 3 100 square kilometre area near Lake Albert, which lies on the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
"Seismic mapping ... shows a number of additional substantial prospects with potential oil resources measuring several billions of barrels," it added.
Ugandan Energy Minister Syda Bumba confirmed the findings, but said deposits would be quantified after another exploration is undertaken in August.
"Yes, results indicated big deposits of oil, but we do not want to be exited now until the second trial exploration is made in August," Bumba told AFP in a telephone interview.
Heritage's London-based vice-president Brian Smith told the Monitor newspaper in an interview published on Wednesday that the discovery of deposits meant that Uganda could become an oil exporting country as early as next year.
"If we find that there are sufficient commercial quantities, we would then build a pipeline into the Semliki (area)," said Smith in the interview.
"If the quantities are very, very big, then we would build this pipeline all the way to Mombasa (Kenya's main port, more than 1 000km east of Lake Albert) and Uganda would be able to export oil," said Smith.
"This is the dream case," Smith said, adding that the alternative would be would be to refine the oil in Uganda.
Uganda spends more than $140m on oil imports every year. - Sapa-AFP
- SAPA