The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
06 June 2013: President Museveni says in his State of the Nation address that the government and the oil companies have agreed to build a crude oil refinery and export pipeline.
14 June 2013: The High Court in London rules in favour of Tullow Uganda Limited in the proceedings against Heritage Oil and Gas Ltd and Heritage Oil Plc, setting a precedent for taxation in Uganda’s oil sector. The case was over an outstanding $313 million in Capital Gains Tax that Tullow had paid to Uganda Revenue Authority on behalf of Heritage after it sold its stake in the Uganda oil fields to the Irish company. Heritage was to pay back the money to Tullow Oil but it later contested the repayment saying Tullow’s payment of the tax to URA was commercially motivated rather than as the result of a valid legal obligation.
31 July 2013: In its half-year report, Tullow Oil Plc reveals the discovery of up to 300 million barrels of oil in Kenya’s Turkana basin.
13 Sept. 2013: Following a recent appraisal of three oils (Gunya, Mpyo and Jobi), the government says Uganda’s crude oil inventory now stands at 3.5bn barrels.
25 Sept. 2013: Chinese oil firm, CNOOC, is awarded the first oil production licence in Uganda for the Kingfisher wells in Hoima District. CNOOC and its joint venture partners (Tullow Oil Uganda and Total E&P Uganda) say they will invest US$ 2bn to ahead of production.
13 Dec. 2013: Government shortlists six firms that have expressed interest to build an oil refinery in Hoima.
05 Feb. 2014: Tullow Oil Uganda, Total E&P Uganda and CNOOC sign a landmark agreement with the Government of Uganda charting the course for Uganda’s downstream oil industry operations.
05 Feb. 2014: Jimmy Mugerwa, Tullow Oil Uganda’s General Manager says Tullow is pleased with its investments in Uganda which so far have hit the Shs 7 trillion mark.
12 Feb.2014: Paul McDade, Tullow Plc’s Chief Operating Officer tells The Wall Street Journal, an American business publication that Tullow is considering selling its holding in Uganda so it concentrates on its discoveries in Kenya where the government is more supportive to the firm.
06 June 2014: Despite blaming the delay on ‘contentious’ issues during negotiations with oil companies, President Museveni says in his State of the Nation address that Uganda will begin producing oil in 2017.
16 July 2014: The Uganda Tax Appeals Tribunal rules against Tullow Oil and orders the company to pay US$ 407 million to the Uganda government in accumulated Capital Gains Tax resulting from the sale of its oil blocks to China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and Total E&P in 2012. Tullow Oil vows to challenge the ruling.
28 August 2014: The Government announces that Uganda’s oil resources have increased from 3.5bn barrels to 6.5bn barrels of crude oil.
January, 2015: Bloomberg, an American business media outlet reports that a plunge in global oil prices has erased more than half of Tullow Oil’s market value since June, 2014.
17 Feb. 2015: Russian firm, RT Global Resources is chosen by the Government of Uganda as the preferred bidder to build Uganda’s oil refinery
June, 2015: Tullow Oil and the Uganda Revenue Authority say an agreement has finally been reached to settle a long-standing tax dispute with Uganda regarding a 2012 farm-down transaction. Tullow agrees to pay US$ 250 million in full and final settlement of its Capital Gains Tax liability.
10 Aug. 2015: President Uhuru Kenyatta pays his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni a state visit. The two presidents appear to agree on the Hoima-Lokichar-Lamu route for the crude oil export pipeline.
12 Oct. 2015: A new memorandum of understanding on Uganda’s proposed crude oil export pipeline is signed by senior government officials of Uganda and Tanzania in Kampala. The memorandum is intended to study the possibility of developing a third route for export of Uganda’s crude oil from Hoima via northern Tanzania to the Indian Ocean Port of Tanga.
