KAMPALA: The Minister for Energy and Mineral Development Hon. Dr. Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu on Friday, January 21, 2023, announced that oil drilling is expected to be officially launched next week on January 24, 2023, by H.E President Yoweri K. Museveni.
During a media briefing at Amber House in Kampala, Hon. Nankabirwa delivered a keynote speech saying the drilling process which was expected to start last year (2022) will begin at the Kingfisher oil field this year (2023).
“The development plan for the Kingfisher field includes the onshore drilling of 31 wells from four well pads, ” she said, adding that the oil and gas resources from this field are planned to be produced from 20 wells, with 11 water injection wells to maintain pressure to support production.
The Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) work and services for the Kingfisher Development Area (KFDA) project were subdivided into four packages. These include pre-drilling civil works, oil field infrastructure, oil field production facilities, and installing the KFDA Project Feeder Line, with completion rates between 19.49per cent and 46.53per cent.
The launch of the drilling process comes after the arrival of the Drilling Rig which arrived in Mombasa on September 12, 2022, and a total of 280 trucks delivered it in bits at the Pad-2 site in the Kikuube district. Its erection and installation works were concluded in November 2022.
On November 24, 2022, Hon. Nankabirwa launched the Kingfisher Drilling Rig, which will be used to drill all 31 wells, including the deepest KDFA well over seven kilometers-depth.
Discussing ‘Milestones for 2022 and Outlook for 2023′ at the media briefing, the Executive Director at Petroleum Authority Uganda Ernest Rubondo also confirmed the official launch of the drilling process at Kingfisher and said that to get ready for production and refinery, there is a need to build volumes from oil wells by starting the drilling process earlier.
“So to begin with, we shall start with three wells at Kingfisher and as the volumes here reduce, we add the other three wells,” he added.
To increase the country’s oil and gas resources, the Directorate of Petroleum in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development continues to conduct geological mapping and geophysical surveys in the Moroto-Kadam basin. The survey is in Uganda’s NorthEastern and Eastern districts of Moroto, Napak’ Nakapiripirit, Katakwi, Bukedea, Kapchorwa, Bulambuli, and Kumi covering a total surface area of 5,672 sq. km.
The continued petroleum exploration and development of prospective petroleum resources will positively impact prolonging and increasing production.
Also to promote the oil and gas potential of the East African region, Uganda will host the 10th East African Petroleum Conference and Exhibition between May 9-11, 2023, at Serena Hotel in Kampala.
