KAMPALA, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Uganda on Tuesday issued China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) Uganda Limited a five-year license to construct a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) facility on the shores of Lake Albert in the western part of the country.
Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu, minister of Energy and Mineral Development, while handing over the license to CNOOC Uganda Limited in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, said the oil giant is expected to produce more than 20,000 tonnes of LPG per year at a peak from the Kingfisher Development Area facility.
"LPG production is consistent with our national development objectives of energy use in Uganda. We expect that the increased supply, together with focused market penetration interventions, will stimulate increased consumption to the desired levels, necessary to cause a shift from high dependence on biomass, to the use of cleaner fuels," the minister said.
Data from the ministry show that Uganda has gas reserves estimated at 14.16 billion cubic meters. The raw gas is expected to be produced along with the crude oil.
According to the ministry, the gas produced will be used primarily for meeting the energy needs of the upstream projects and any excess will be converted into LPG.
In January last year, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni launched the drilling of oil for commercial production at the Kingfisher Oil Field, operated by CNOOC. Uganda in 2006 discovered 6.5 billion barrels of oil, of which 1.4 billion barrels are commercially viable, according to the ministry. ■
