In December 2016, the Government of Uganda finalized the implementing regulations for the 2013 Petroleum (Exploration, Development and Production) Act: http://www.mia.go.ug/resource/laws-and-regulations

Section 10 (2)(n) of the Petroleum (Exploration, Development and Production) Act, 2013 the Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU) must “ensure the establishment of a central database of persons involved in petroleum activities.”

The Petroleum Authority requests firms seeking to be placed on the National  Supplier Database attest that their registration documents are authentic.  The Petroleum Authority has notified the Embassy that notarizing this attestation at the U.S. Embassy would satisfy the Petroleum Authority’s requirement.

** Please note:  U.S. Embassy personnel cannot notarize documents on behalf of U.S. firms.  Firms cannot have their registration documents directly notarized because the notary was not present during the incorporation process.  Instead, they must present a document, which attests that they presented their registration to the notary.  Please leave a space for the company representative to sign (in front of the notary) and for the notary to sign and stamp.  **

For further questions about the notarization process, or to schedule a notary appointment, please email KampalaUSCitizen@state.gov with your requested appointment date and time.  We offer notary services Mondays and Thursdays from 10:00 -11:00 a.m.  This service cost $50 per notary.

Once you’ve notarized the document, please email a scanned copy of the notarized attestation document along with a copy of your company’s registration documents to the PAU’s administrator Christine Nakyonyi: nsd@pau.go.ug

Please find additional information about our notary services on our website: https://ug.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/notaries-public/

For any further questions, please notify the Commercial Section:  CommercialKampala@state.gov

Uganda’s power sector attracts one of the largest investments by the GOU and the private sector. To improve transparency and professionalism in the sector, the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) was established to license and regulate operations of all electricity operators (generation, transmission and distribution), and the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) was put in place to ensure that rural electrification, which in most cases is not commercially viable, is accelerated to achieve set targets.

Uganda has 895 MW of installed electricity generation capacity, of which approximately 695 MW is hydroelectric, 136 MW is thermal generating capacity, and the remainder generated from sugar cane operations. The Ugandan government is building additional large hydropower facilities such as the 600MW Karuma hydro and the 183MW Isimba Falls hydro project.

Uganda has approximately 1500 km of transmission lines (over 33kV), which the government aims to double. There are plans to upgrade existing transmission lines and develop a 220kV “ring” around Lake Victoria in conjunction with Kenya and Tanzania. A number of regional interconnectors are under development to help in the wheeling of electricity across the Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP).

The distribution sector is well regulated with cost‐reflective tariffs. Umeme Co. Ltd. is the largest energy distributor in Uganda, distributing 97 percent of all electricity in the country. As of January 2016, Umeme’s customer base is about 800,000, with approximately 16,000 customers being added every month. The average tariff to consumers is $0.17/kWh ($0.11/kWh for industrial users), with the first 15 units of power subsidized.

Power Africa Support

Power Africa provides broad support to the Ugandan energy sector including transaction advisory services for small-scale renewable generation plants, off grid access, including USAID Development Credit Authority loan portfolio guarantees for cleaner energy access. Power Africa’s Beyond the Grid (BTG) partners are already working to bring power to rural Ugandans. Firms such as Greenlight Planet, d Light, MKOPA, and Fenix International, among others, have developed and deployed innovative technologies, which have provided electricity to thousands of people in Uganda for the first time. Learn more about how Power Africa is collaborating to address key challenges in Uganda’s electricity sector and supporting private sector investment in energy at: https://www.usaid.gov/powerafrica/uganda.

From current levels, Power Africa Uganda aims to work with the GOU and partners to add 1,000 MW of clean energy and 1,500,000 new connections by 2020. Investors have a unique opportunity to participate in Uganda’s energy sector due to GOU incentives and broad participation by the private sector. Uganda is one of the few sub-Saharan African countries to have liberalized its energy market, with generation, transmission and supply segments unbundled since 2001. Independent power producers currently account for 58 percent of generation capacity, a share which is set to grow in the near term as a pipeline of smaller renewables projects are developed.

Opportunities
Renewable energy: The GOU is working to expand its power supply and diversify its energy mix by constructing a number of micro-hydro projects along the Nile River and is promoting the development of other sources of renewable energy, such as off-grid solar power systems. The government continues to explore options to develop its geothermal reserves in western Uganda.
Web Resources

• Power Africa Uganda Website: https://www.usaid.gov/powerafrica/uganda
  Dave Rogers, Private Enterprise Officer (USAID) Email:  drogers@usaid.gov
  Oscar Ankunda, Energy Specialist (USAID) Email: oankunda@usaid.gov
• Uganda Electricity Regulatory Authority
• Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Ltd
• Rural Electrification Agency Uganda
• Umeme (Power Utility Company)

Investors interested in bidding on contracts should apply at the Directorate of Petroleum’s website: http://petroleum.go.ug/resources/jobs_tenders.

Western Uganda has approximately 6.5 billion barrels of oil reserves, with at least 1.4 billion estimated to be economically recoverable. French firm Total, S.A., Chinese firm China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), and U.K. firm Tullow have production licenses to develop Uganda’s oil reserves for export. In addition to producing and exporting crude oil, Uganda plans to build a refinery to produce petroleum products for the domestic and EAC markets.

The presidents of Uganda and Tanzania signed an agreement over construction terms for a 1450 km heated oil export pipeline to Tanzania’s Indian Ocean Port of Tanga. Industry insiders estimate the infrastructure required to develop Uganda’s oil reserves will  cost $15 billion.

Opportunities

Ancillary Services: With upstream and midstream projects currently under front-end engineering and design, international oil companies are increasingly looking for service subcontractors including housing, road infrastructure design and construction, environmental hazard controls, and vocational training services.

Websites:

• Directorate of Petroleum: https://petroleum.go.ug/
• Uganda Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development: www.energyandminerals.go.ug
• Department of Geological Survey and Mines of Uganda: www.uganda-mining.go.ug

Leading International Oil Firms Operating in Uganda

China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC)

No.25,Chaoyangmenbei Dajie, Dongcheng District, Beijing 100010, P. R. China

Postal address: Box 4705, No.25, Chaoyangmenbei Dajie, Dongcheng District, Beijing 100010, P. R. China

Tel: 86 10 8452 1010

Fax: 86 10 6460 2600

E-mail: cnooc@cnooc.com.cn

Total S.A

2, place Jean Millier

La Défense 6

92078 Paris La Défense Cedex

France

Tél. : + 33 (0) 1 47 44 45 46 – See more at:

http://www.total.com/en/contact-form#sthash.zsvlezpU.dpuf

 

Tullow Oil Plc.

9 Chiswick Park

566 Chiswick High Road

London, W4 5XT

United Kingdom

PHONE: +44-203-249-9000

EMAIL: INFO@TULLOWOIL.COM