Oilfields at heart of tax dispute to cost Uganda $5bn
Uganda expects the planned development of two oil fields to cost at least $5-billion, as the government seeks to resolve a tax dispute with the companies that own the sites and pave the way for increased infrastructure spending.
That amount is part of the $15-billion to $20-billion that the East African nation anticipates will flow within three to five years to its nascent oil industry, including a refinery and crude pipeline, Energy Ministry Permanent Secretary Robert Kasande said Tuesday in an interview in the capital, Kampala.
The government is in talks with Total, Cnooc and Tullow Oil, which jointly own the Kingfisher and Tilega fields, over the British explorer’s plan to reduce its interest in the assets and allow final investment decisions to be inked. A fallout over how much tax Tullow’s share sale attracted, led the company to abandon a deal in August and for Total to suspend plans to build a $3.5-billion crude export pipeline from Uganda to Tanzania.
Uganda was on course to see a final investment decision last year to develop the fields when the tax disagreements emerged. Former energy minister, Irene Muloni, said last month that the government offered a “package” to the companies that could end “pending hindrances.” In November, Muloni said final investment decisions were expected by end-March.
There is no update on the negotiations yet, Kasande said.
The country is struggling to fund this fiscal year’s budget of 40.5-trillion-shilling after revenue from sources including pre-oil-development activities declined. Uganda has been hampered by repeated delays in starting production, and the government has depleted as much as $121-million from a crude fund to shore up the shortfall.
President Yoweri Museveni’s administration now plans to borrow €600-million from the Trade & Development Bank and Standard Bank Group’s local unit to help plug this fiscal year’s budget deficit that’s estimated at 8.4% of gross domestic product, excluding grants.
Kasande said the $5-billion funding for the fields would be used “to drill over 500 wells” and build two central processing facilities and a water plant.
Uganda also plans to pick explorers in five blocks by the end of this year, with a March 31 deadline to express interest, he said.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation