KAMPALA- There are no oil deposits and oil in Kayunga district, the ministry of Energy and Mineral Development has clarified.
A statement from the ministry dated July 12 says there is even nothing mentioned on the prospects of oil and gas deposits in any part of the District, including Bbaale County.
The statement is responding to two articles ‘Mad rush for Kayunga Land as government hints at oil exploration’ and ‘Oil prospects excite Kayunga’ that appeared in the Daily Monitor of 23rd June 2018 and 9th July 2018 respectively.
In the Articles, the reporter quotes Mr. Wilson Tumushabe Ag. Principal Geologist in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development saying that they received reports that the area is endowed with oil and gas deposits especially in Bbale County located in the cattle corridor in Kayunga district.
“Although the reporter is appreciated for reporting some of the issues presented and discussed during a workshop, he nevertheless went overboard and provided misleading information especially on the existence of oil and gas in Kayunga District as there is no oil in Kayunga,” reads the statement signed by the communications specialist Mr Yusuf Masaba.
“At this meeting nothing was even mentioned on the prospects of oil and gas deposits in any part of the District, including Bbaale County as reported and Kayunga does not have conditions necessary for Oil exploration.,” the statement says further.
Mr Masaba explains that the headlines on this subject in the newspaper were therefore unofrtunate as they have potential to raise expectations and anxiety in the area.
The statement says although other participants insisted that Lake Kyoga basin extends to Kayunga District, Mr. Tumushabe explained that Lake Kyoga basin is only one of the potential areas in the country for future petroleum exploration and promised the Ministry will do more follow up and establish the validity of the claims
Uganda is currently described by the World Bank as the hottest inland exploration frontier in the world and the country to watch in the oil and gas space, due to the commercial discovery of an estimated 6.5 billion barrels of oil, 1.4 billion of which are recoverable.
Mr Simon D’Ujanga, the minister of State for energy, says to date, 6.5 billion barrels of oil have been discovered with 1.4 to 1.7 billion barrels recovery rates, a 500 billion cubic feet of non-associated gas and under 200 billion feet of associated gas, just from 40 per cent of the exploration areas.
