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China-Africa Trade Information Service
info.afrindex.com
China-Africa Trade Information Service
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Local Ugandan companies have not actively participated in the first lucrative stages of the oil and gas sector,and they lag behind on getting oil and gas, the Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU) said recently.
Ernest Rubondo, the executive director of the PAU, said the value for money audit on national content undertaken by the auditor general places the current level of national participation at 28 percent only.
He explained that in 2017, out of the $133 million spent on contracts, purchase orders and call-offs, only 28 per cent translating to $35 million were undertaken by Ugandan companies, something he said is still minimal.
“The major activities of 2017 involved mainly Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) studies and geophysical and geotechnical studies. These activities were contracted to international companies and undertaken outside Uganda,” he said.
Rubondo added: “Approval of these FEED studies will usher in the engineering, procurement and construction phase of the projects where the bulk of opportunities for employment, technology transfer and enterprise development lie.”
With close to $20 billion expected to be invested in the development of these oil and gas projects over the next five to 10 years, PAU feels it is critical to ensure that a significant portion of the opportunities are domesticated within the country.
