Uganda has launched its second round for competitive bidding for five oil exploration blocks in the Albertine Graben.
The country’s Energy and Mineral Development Ministry plans to issue a request for qualification, inviting interested firms and/or consortia to submit applications within a period of six months.
“Upon evaluation of the applications, the successful firms/consortia will be issued with bidding documents comprising the model production sharing agreement and data sale regulations, among others,” Uganda’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Eng. Irene Muloni, said in a statement on Thursday.
Muloni further stated that the country expects new exploration companies to enter Uganda’s oil and gas space, as the price of crude oil is high and very attractive for investment.
The bidding process for the blocks – which include Avivi with an area coverage of 1026km2, Omuka (750km2) ), Kasuruban (1285km2 ), Turaco ( 637km2 ), and Ngaji (1230km2 ) – is expected to take five months, with the licensing round expected to be concluded by December 2020.
This is the country’s first oil licensing round since 2015.
