Elias Biryabarema
16 May 2008
Kampala — Tullow Oil of UK has discovered more petroleum deposits in the exploration Block 2 of Lake Albert basin in Western Uganda, confirming the widespread of the oil resource in the area.
The new discovery was on the Taitai-1 exploration well located in Butiaba region, Buliisa district. After drilling the well to a total depth of 1006 meters, Tullow said in a statement on May 13th that it, "encountered five metres of net gas pay and at least eight metres of net oil pay."
A thick section of oil-stained sandstone was also encountered, which, according to Tullow, provides high prospects for the petroleum potential of both Taitai-1 and elsewhere in the Lake Albert Rift Basin.Taitai-1 is the first in a drilling campaign of nine exploration wells in the Butiaba area.
"The discovery of oil at Taitai has proved the existence of a working petroleum system over 70 kilometers from the previous wells drilled in the Kaiso-Tonya region," said Tullow Chief Executive Officer Aidan Heavey.
Also, he said, it "reinforces the potential of Lake Albert Rift basin as a major emerging petroleum province."But though the well showed good promise, it was not flow-tested pending completion of the drilling campaign whereupon the most prospective wells will be tested.
Heritage and Tullow are the only exploration companies that have struck oil in Western Uganda although there are about six companies conducting geological surveys in the area. If Tullow's latest drilling programme proves successful it would suggest that Uganda's hydrocarbons are vaster toward the northern tip of Lake Albert and into Northwest Uganda.
Coincidentally, where Uganda's petroleum resources appear to be huge are the same areas where the country's border with DR Congo is uncertain, a fact that has stoked tempers as a nervous Congo has sought to goad its lawless elements to provoke a clash with Uganda and possibly paralyse the ongoing petroleum exploitation activities.
President Museveni and President Joseph Kabila of DR Congo met on May 11 in Tanzania to sort through the border mess and cool the seething tensions.
To mollify Congo, which has covertly accused Uganda of seeking to steal its oil, it was proposed at the Dar es Salaam Summit that Uganda export up to 30MW of excess power generated from thermal power plants.
Tullow and the Ugandan government have already agreed to erect a 50MW plant in Hoima fed by Heavy Fuel Oil from a mini refinery to be ready by mid to late 2009.
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