AfrOil: Uganda to tender oilfield service contracts in December

Ugandan authorities are gearing up to seek contractors for infrastructure projects that will support the country’s nascent oil industry later this year. A representative of the Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU) said last week that Kampala hoped to call the first set of tenders in December.

Some of these auctions will relate to the construction of production facilities and roads serving the Kingfisher and Tilenga oilfields, said Peninah Aheebwa, the director of PAU’s technical support services. Others will cover contracts for work on the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) and a refinery that will turn out petroleum products for Uganda’s domestic market, she explained.

Aheebwa stressed that the Ugandan government was taking steps to ensure that some of these contracts go to local companies. For example, she said, Kampala has decreed that contracts for certain types of services, including but not limited to logistics, must be awarded to Ugandan firms. These ring-fenced provisions will help local businesses expand their capacity for providing support to oil and gas projects, she said.