The issue of oil as a national resource once again came up during the second presidential debate when one of the moderators put the debaters at task to explain their oil policies. The candidates spoke passionately about the subject each saying they will use the money from oil to economically empower the country.

Uganda is in the process of producing her estimated 6.5m barrels of crude oil buried away in the soils of Albertine region in western Uganda. The country also has significant gas deposits in Lake Albert which is also in the Albertine region.

Environment concerns

Witty independent presidential candidate Elton Joseph Mabirizi, Abed Bwanika the president and presidential candidate for People’s Development Party (PDP), and Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) presidential candidate Kizza Besigye expressed worry that oil if mishandled will result into an environment disaster.

Asked if oil is going to be a curse to Uganda, Bwanika said that going by international prices of crude, oil is no longer economically unattractive but expressed optimism that three or four years from now, the markets will have regained and Uganda, then, can go into production.

Bwanika acknowledged that oil cannot be a curse if it is exploited to benefit Uganda. Bwanika first contested for presidency in 2006, then returned in 2011, all with no success. Going by recent published election polls by independent organisations, the born again pastor is set for another disappointment.

Bwanika said that the country should also harness its gas which can be used to save the environment. He revealed that about 9000k hectare of forest a year is cut down by people who are looking for firewood, charcoal. He said gas can replace cutting down trees.

Besigye

Besigye, contesting for presidency against Museveni for the fourth time noted that ‘oil is certainly a curse in the hands of unaccountable regime’ and that an ‘Unaccountable regime can cause many complications – and can be a deserter to environment’.

Besigye said the mismanaging the oil natural resource can bring about an imbalance in economy. “And that is in our plan; we think that oil should be given a specific plan. Part of oil revenue should be saved for future generations. Oil should help us to invest in inexhaustible sectors.” He said.

Oil was discovered by NRM

President Yoweri Museveni, the incumbent and National Resistance Movement (NRM) presidential candidate sent the audience into untold laughter when he said that oil was discovered by NRM which he leads. Museveni once said that he can never leave power because he doesn’t want to leave oil in the hands of the opposition.

Not even an intervention from Besigye, informing that it was known that Albertine region had oil even before independence, could bring Museveni to retract his claim that he discovered Uganda’s oil. Uganda confirmed presence of commercially viable oil in Albertine region in 2006.

Museveni informed that the Albertine region was explored for oil between 1920 -1950 with no success. He emphasized that it was his government that discovered oil and that his government will use oil revenue for infrastructure development.

 “The oil was discovered by NRM under my leadership and direct command. I trained scientists – I refused to agree with oil companies – and they are the ones that negotiated with the oil companies. Oil money will only be used for some elements for infrastructure development’” the President said.

Museveni who has been in power for the last years said his government is the most suited to mange oil money and that oil money is not for consumption but for science, innovations and infrastructure development like railway

Authorities in India have confessed that Africa’s rapid expansion of the hydrocarbon sector has led the Asian country to focus on the continent as a vital region for sourcing petroleum products in coming years.

India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Dharmendra Pradhan speaking at the 4th India-Africa Hydrocarbons Conference in Delhi recently said Indian oil companies now have keen interest in Africa because of the continent’s hydrocarbon potential.

The 2-day Conference attracted government and private sector officials from some of Africa’s oil producing countries in the north and those African nations which are emerging as oil producers like Uganda, Kenya and Ghana.

“As a matter of policy, the present Indian government is keen to move towards a geographically diversified energy basket. This has resulted in India's greater focus on Africa as a vital region for sourcing petroleum products in coming years,” Pradhan stated at the opening of the conference on 21^st January.

India in 2014 imported 32 Million Metric Tonnes of crude in 2014 from Africa; 3 Million Metric Tonnes from North Africa and 29 Million Metric Tonnes from West Africa, mainly from Nigeria and Angola constituting  approximately 16% of the country’s consumption.

“It is clear from our crude import figures that Africa has played an important role in India's energy security,” Pradhan asserted before calling for collaborative development and creating a brighter future for the people of India and Africa.

"There are several reasons for us to believe that Africa will be the perfect partner in the hydrocarbon space. India's scarcity of domestic energy resources can be offset by Africa's surplus energy reserves – which accounts for about 15% of current proved accessible global oil reserves.

Over the past two decades, the African hydrocarbon sector has seen rapid growth. The new discoveries in Africa have seen oil reserves grow by over 100% and gas reserves grow by over 55%. We believe that this will greatly improve Africa's position as an exporter of not only oil but also gas.

On the other hand, India has emerged as the fastest growing major economy in the world today with over 7% GDP growth. As per estimates by World Bank, IMF and others, this growth trend is expected to continue," Pradan submitted in his conference speech.

Accordingly, India's energy consumption has been constantly increasing. The Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of Indian primary energy consumption in the last 15 years has been about 7.3% as compared to a global CAGR of 3%. 

To sustain economic growth, especially the manufacturing, India's energy demand is going up further. According to the International Energy Agency's (IEA) World Energy Outlook 2015, India will contribute around 25% of the growth in global energy demand and would thus be the single largest contributor to energy growth globally.

“We import nearly 78% of our crude oil & 35% of our natural gas requirements. However, while being deficient in natural hydrocarbon resources, we have built significant capacities and capabilities in products and processing of hydrocarbons.

Despite being a net importer of crude oil, India, with 23 refineries, has become a net exporter of petroleum products by investing in refineries designed for export. India has emerged as a refining hub with the fourth largest refining capacity in the world with 4.5% of world share.

Indian refineries have the highest complexity and can refine almost 180 kinds of crude. In 2014-15, India exported 63 Million Metric Tonnes of petroleum products to more than 55 countries around the world.” Pradhan emphasized. 

The 4th India-Africa Hydrocarbons Conference, under the theme "Energizing the bottom of the pyramid – Together towards tomorrow", was building on successful accomplishment of the first three conferences held in 2007, 2009, and 2011 respectively.

It was organized by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India, to advance discussions on energy co-operation between African nations and India.

The India-Africa Hydrocarbons Conference was conceptualized in 2007 with the objective to foster bilateral trade relations in the hydrocarbons sector, understand policy and regulatory frameworks and offer opportunities for strategic partnerships in upstream and downstream sectors of the two regions.

Authorities in India have confessed that Africa’s rapid expansion of the hydrocarbon sector has led the Asian country to focus on the continent as a vital region for sourcing petroleum products in coming years.

India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Dharmendra Pradhan speaking at the 4th India-Africa Hydrocarbons Conference in Delhi recently said Indian oil companies now have keen interest in Africa because of the continent’s hydrocarbon potential.

The 2-day Conference attracted government and private sector officials from some of Africa’s oil producing countries in the north and those African nations which are emerging as oil producers like Uganda, Kenya and Ghana.

“As a matter of policy, the present Indian government is keen to move towards a geographically diversified energy basket. This has resulted in India's greater focus on Africa as a vital region for sourcing petroleum products in coming years,” Pradhan stated at the opening of the conference on 21^st January.

India in 2014 imported 32 Million Metric Tonnes of crude in 2014 from Africa; 3 Million Metric Tonnes from North Africa and 29 Million Metric Tonnes from West Africa, mainly from Nigeria and Angola constituting  approximately 16% of the country’s consumption.

“It is clear from our crude import figures that Africa has played an important role in India's energy security,” Pradhan asserted before calling for collaborative development and creating a brighter future for the people of India and Africa.

"There are several reasons for us to believe that Africa will be the perfect partner in the hydrocarbon space. India's scarcity of domestic energy resources can be offset by Africa's surplus energy reserves – which accounts for about 15% of current proved accessible global oil reserves.

Over the past two decades, the African hydrocarbon sector has seen rapid growth. The new discoveries in Africa have seen oil reserves grow by over 100% and gas reserves grow by over 55%. We believe that this will greatly improve Africa's position as an exporter of not only oil but also gas.

On the other hand, India has emerged as the fastest growing major economy in the world today with over 7% GDP growth. As per estimates by World Bank, IMF and others, this growth trend is expected to continue," Pradan submitted in his conference speech.

Accordingly, India's energy consumption has been constantly increasing. The Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of Indian primary energy consumption in the last 15 years has been about 7.3% as compared to a global CAGR of 3%. 

To sustain economic growth, especially the manufacturing, India's energy demand is going up further. According to the International Energy Agency's (IEA) World Energy Outlook 2015, India will contribute around 25% of the growth in global energy demand and would thus be the single largest contributor to energy growth globally.

“We import nearly 78% of our crude oil & 35% of our natural gas requirements. However, while being deficient in natural hydrocarbon resources, we have built significant capacities and capabilities in products and processing of hydrocarbons.

Despite being a net importer of crude oil, India, with 23 refineries, has become a net exporter of petroleum products by investing in refineries designed for export. India has emerged as a refining hub with the fourth largest refining capacity in the world with 4.5% of world share.

Indian refineries have the highest complexity and can refine almost 180 kinds of crude. In 2014-15, India exported 63 Million Metric Tonnes of petroleum products to more than 55 countries around the world.” Pradhan emphasized. 

The 4th India-Africa Hydrocarbons Conference, under the theme "Energizing the bottom of the pyramid – Together towards tomorrow", was building on successful accomplishment of the first three conferences held in 2007, 2009, and 2011 respectively.

It was organized by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India, to advance discussions on energy co-operation between African nations and India.

The India-Africa Hydrocarbons Conference was conceptualized in 2007 with the objective to foster bilateral trade relations in the hydrocarbons sector, understand policy and regulatory frameworks and offer opportunities for strategic partnerships in upstream and downstream sectors of the two regions.

East Africa’s leading minds in the field of oil and gas will on March 30th & 31st 2016, meet at the 5^th Annual East Africa Oil & Gas Summit 2016. The summit will be held at Hyatt Regency Hotel, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to discuss how best the region can develop the nascent industry.

While the oil business is going through a torrid time, interest in East Africa’s Oil & Gas market remains higher than ever. The region has in the last decade made significant oil and gas discoveries to warranty investment returns.

Uganda and Kenya are steadily advancing in exploration of oil while Tanzania is big on gas. Rwanda and Burundi are tagging along with high their own high prospects of finding commercially viable discoveries. Uganda in particular expects to start oil production in the next five years. Kenya is moving a little bit faster.

Respective countries in the region are undertaking infrastructure development to meet the demands of the industry. Simiraly, government alongsidekey stakeholders are formulating laws, policies and regulations to govern the sensitive business.

East African has risen as a desired destination for investments directed at the extractive industry. While there is keen interest in oil and gas, mining is another option. The region is endowed with diverse minerals that yet to be extracted.

And because of the potential at hand, the 5^th East Africa Oil & Gas Summit will explore the industry’s most topical issues through extensive presentations and in-depth panel discussions, examining areas such as the region’s latest licensing rounds, offshore security, transparency and accountability, operating efficiency and local content.

The two day event also comprises a first-class exhibition where the world’s leading companies meet to engage their key audience and showcase the latest in cutting-edge technology. The Summit also acts a platform offering extensive networking opportunities for the sector’s leading players to establish valuable business connections with government representatives, local and international operators, and solutions and technology providers.

In attendance will be representatives from Ministries of Energy from across the region, private sector leaders, investors, experts, service providers, academia and members of the media. Over 250 industry leaders will attend the summit organized by Oliver Kinross, a UK based media agency.

The topics to be covered by the conference will include Energy Reforms, Government Updates, International Case Studies, Investment Opportunities, Local Content, Latest Technology, Project Financing, Licensing Rounds and Oil and Gas Security.