Environment, Social & Governance discussions dominate the 4th 90 days of Oil & Gas Media campaign.
Drake Nyamugabwa
The 4th Edition of the annual 90 Days of Oil and Gas Media Campaign through its first month has yielded various feedback from oil and gas stakeholders in different sectors with a call to prioritize issues of Environment, Social & Governance (ESG) in all the activities aimed at enhancing the level of integration of environmental and social risk issues in the strategic objectives of the respective entities.
Convened by the Uganda Chamber of Mines & Petroleum (UCMP), this year’s edition focuses on "Uganda’s Journey to First Oil in the Face of a Just Energy Transition." Running from 4th June -30th August 2024.
According to UCMP, the campaign, which is an annual activity for the Chamber, aims to spotlight emerging oil and gas sector issues to inform investment and related decisions among all stakeholders.
“The main objectives of this year’s campaign are; to offer a platform for oil and gas sector actors to showcase their response to Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) requirements; to provide a platform for the government and its partners to check oil sector actors on their response to the international ESG standards and to provide space for sector players to update the country on the progress of the oil and gas sector project ahead of FIRST OIL in 2025” partly reads the statement.
The Chief Executive Officer of UCMP, Mr Humphrey Asiimwe at the beginning of the campaign said “As a country, Uganda is rushing towards First Oil. It is indeed an honor and privilege to welcome you to the 90 Days of Oil and Gas. We are committed as a country to exploiting our oil and gas resources in a fair and just way so that as a country we benefit and as a universe, we continue to protect our environment.”
In the FY2024/25 national budget, the oil and gas sub-sector was allocated UGX920 Billion to enhance investment in the continued development of various projects including the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), Petroleum Geoscience Laboratory, equity contribution to the Refinery Project, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders, among others.
In April 2021 authorities signed 3 major agreements for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), to further kick-start the development phase of the sector. Early works of the EACOP had started by the end of last year and more is expected as this year gains traction.
The signing of the 3 agreements including the Host Government Agreement, The Stakeholders Agreement, and The Tariff and Transportation Agreement for the EACOP by the governments of Uganda, Tanzania, and their upstream partners meant that the international oil companies could now start awarding contracts to the main contractors for various major oil projects.
According to the Petroleum Authority of Uganda, this signing unlocked investments into Uganda’s economy, which includes the implementation of the Tilenga Project, The Kingfisher Project, and the EACOP in addition to the ongoing Kabalega International Airport, Roads among other downstream projects.
“A total of 465 Uganda companies have been awarded contracts worth US$1.973 Billion in the sector implying that Uganda companies make up 74% of the contractors in the oil and gas sector and have been awarded 40% of the awarded value which has enabled Uganda enterprises to scale their operations and as a result, they have employed more Ugandans” the statement partly reads.
The Uganda Chamber of Mines and Petroleum (UCMP) is a not-for-profit, member-based voluntary organization that represents the interests of private players in the mining and petroleum sectors in Uganda by collaborating with the state to develop the country’s extractive sector.
