Petroleum Authority settles Ugandan Vs London Tilenga project engineering designs

The Director for Development and Production at the Petroleum Authority of Uganda, Alex Nyombi confirmed that TotalEnergies was given the green light to conduct the studies outside of Uganda because the necessary specialized disciplines are not yet available in the country.

He explained that part of the detailed engineering work is being done in Uganda but a large percentage of it is being done in London. Transporting experts to Uganda would have been more expensive than having the work done in London.

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Project outlines

The Tilenga project’s Central Processing Facility (CPF) will process 190,000 barrels of oil and 700,000 barrels of total liquid per day. Unlike the Kingfisher project, the Tilenga project is being approached with caution because it's located in a national park.

The rigs are already in the country but their testing awaits approval from the Petroleum Authority before the rigging exercise begins.- The rigs have been designed to prevent interference with tourism and wildlife in response to environmental concerns such as noise pollution on wildlife.

It has been a year since TotalEnergies began clearing the site for the Central Processing facility and other industrial areas in preparation for the first oil expected in 2025. Mota-Engil Uganda is undertaking the project which covers approximately 700 acres of land which will host construction camps, a drill support base, and a construction support base.

Project impact

The Tilenga project is expected to create 8,000 jobs while spending over $700 million on local businesses. It involves the development of six fields and the drilling of around 400 wells from 31 locations. Oil production will be delivered through buried pipelines to a treatment plant built in Kasenyi, where the fluids (oil, water, gas) will be separated and treated. The operators have committed to re-injecting all of the water produced into the fields and using the gas to produce the energy needed for the treatment process.

Surplus electricity will be exported to the pipeline and the Ugandan grid.

Uganda has four exploration licenses for oil and gas operations, including Kasureban, held by Uganda National Oil Company, Ngasa Shallow and Ngasa Deep, held by Oranto Petroleum, and Kanywataaba License, held by Armor Energy.

It is expected that Armor Energy and Oranto will begin drilling wells by the end of this year.