The government of Uganda announced on Thursday that the cabinet had approved the energy ministry’s request to sign PSAs with two oil companies, including a subsidiary of Australia’s DGR Global, for two oil exploration blocks.
The 637 square kilometre exploration region is situated close to the DRC border in Uganda’s Albertine Rift valley. Kanywataba, an exploration site in the region, is already owned by another division of DGR Global and was purchased by it in 2017.
The second agreement, which includes the 1,285 square kilometre Kasuruban exploring area, is for Uganda’s state-owned Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC), according to the release.
In the Albertine Rift basin, Uganda first found commercial crude oil reserves in 2006; according to officials, the first oil will be produced from the ground in 2025.
In a licensing phase that began in 2019, Uganda auctioned off five blocks, including the two exploration zones.
According to the release, the corporations will initially receive two-year exploration permits for the areas.
According to a statement made by Godfrey Kabbyanga, a junior information minister, a cabinet meeting on January 9 approved the signing of the contract with DGR Energy Turaco Uganda Limited, owned by Australia’s DGR Global, for the Turaco exploration area.