The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Total E&P Uganda says it expects the first oil to be out of Uganda’s Albertine graben within 43 months effective from mid-May this year.
Total Energies Uganda upstream project representative, Edirisa Kwizera is hopeful that unlike the past, the timeline to Uganda’s first oil will not be changed.
“With the effective date named as 25th May, 2021, we embarked on our 43-journey towards first oil. This schedule has been challenged several times before, but I’m glad to mention that with the schedule we have, there no point of turning back” said Kwizera.
Total E&P Uganda, mid this month signed conditional letters of award for the main surface facilities, engineering, procurement, supply, construction and commissioning (EPSCC) as well as five (5) drilling packages for the Tilenga project located in Nwoya and Buliisa districts.
The selected companies are required to construct flow lines which will convey fluids from each of the well pads to the central processing facility. They have to develop the well pads and construct the Central processing facility(CPF) or the main factory for the crude oil within the 43-months schedule.
According to the roadmap, over three hundred well pads will be situated south of River Nile while only ten will be located North of the Nile.
Some of the companies engaged for the work include a consortium comprising McDermott Company and Sinopec International Petroleum Service Corporation (SINOPEC) for the Engineering, Procurement, Supply, Construction and Commissioning (EPSCC) of the Central Processing Facility (CPF), flow lines and other associated surface facilities.
Others are Schlumberger Oilfield Eastern Limited for three (3) well engineering packages and Vallourec Oil and Gas France for well procurement package – Casing, Tubing and Associated Services.
According to Engineer Kwizera , some of the work had commenced in March this year on construction of the enabling infrastructure.
He revealed that clearing the ground for the industrial area was completed this month. He says they expect that roads connecting from the Central Processing facility(CPF) to the Uganda National Road’s Authority will be ready within a month.
Speaking at the 7th oil and gas convention 2021, Uganda National Roads Authority Executive Director Allen Kagina said there has been marked progress towards delivering what she termed as critical oil roads.
Kagina says approximately seven hundred kilometer of first class roads are expected to be in place before the first oil. We started way back in December 2016, and as we speak now, out of the 700 kilometers, a little over 500 are nearing completion. So there has been significant progress”, she said.
More activity around the Tilenga project is expected around the third quarter of this year when companies like McDermott and Sinopec International Petroleum and Schlumberger place their first orders. Engineer Edirisa Kwizera said once the orders are placed, works should commence as scheduled.
The development of the Tilenga project will involve the construction of 6 oil fields. It will produce about 190,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
It will have one Central Processing Facility located in Buliisa and it will have 426 wells to be drilled from 31 well pads.
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