Uganda is edging closer to its goal of becoming an oil-exporting nation before the end of 2026, driven by two major projects in the Lake Albert basin. The first, Kingfisher, is operated by French energy giant TotalEnergies alongside its Chinese partner CNOOC. The second, Tilenga, is also run by TotalEnergies.
According to Energy Permanent Secretary Irene Batebe, the Kingfisher field is expected to enter production before year’s end, with an initial output estimated at 28,000 barrels per day. Other sources point to a more ambitious long-term target, since the site’s installed capacity was designed to handle up to 40,000 barrels a day once fully ramped up. Three of the four planned well pads are already complete, and construction of the central processing facility, tasked with separating crude oil from gas and water, is moving forward rapidly.
The larger Tilenga project, meanwhile, stands at 74 percent completion. It is expected to eventually produce around 190,000 barrels per day, bringing the combined output of both fields to a peak near 230,000 barrels daily. Roughly 164 of the 170 wells needed for this field have already been drilled, a pace Ugandan authorities consider encouraging.
Both fields form part of a broader project estimated at more than 11 billion dollars, which includes the construction of a 1,443-kilometer pipeline linking Uganda to the Tanzanian port of Tanga. This infrastructure, known as EACOP, is meant to carry Ugandan crude to international markets and is itself more than 70 percent complete.
Ugandan authorities are presenting this development as a historic milestone. The oil sector has already attracted more than 7.5 billion dollars in foreign direct investment, making it the largest single investment project in the country’s history. Nearly 20,000 Ugandans are now directly employed in this emerging industry, with more than 180,000 additional jobs said to be linked to it indirectly.
Long delayed, the start of commercial production at these oil fields would mark the culmination of a process launched more than two decades ago, following the first commercial discoveries in the country’s west. If the timeline holds, Uganda would join the small circle of oil-producing nations on the African continent.
