Uganda lies within the African Plate which is a continental crust. Precambrian rocks ranging from Achaean, Lower Proterozoic to Middle Proterozoic (4500 – 600 Million Years) dominate the geology. Close to the eastern border with Kenya, lies a number of Cretaceous to Miocene (145.5 – 5.3 Million Years) intrusive alkaline carbonatite complexes. The Rift Valley contains Cenozoic (65 – 0.01 Million Years) to Recent sediments up to 4000 meters thick. These rocks are endowed with a wide variety of minerals as evidenced by past mining records and the numerous mineral occurrences in many parts of the country.
Uganda has been undertaking Oil and Gas exploration activities in the Albertine Graben in Western Uganda and the first commercial discovery was made in 2006. Uganda’s Oil and Gas sector has transitioned from the exploration and appraisal phase to the development and production phase in preparation for sustainable production of the petroleum resources that have been discovered in the country.
The Government of Uganda (GoU) has planned the commercialization of the discovered oil and gas resources in the Lake Albert region. The plans include the development of a refinery, use of associated gas from crude oil to generate electricity, and export of crude oil to international markets by pipeline via Tanzania. The government expects that the development of the oil and gas industry will stimulate accelerated economic growth, and job creation, and contribute toward poverty eradication and general prosperity for the people of Uganda.