Uganda says carbon neutrality plans hinge on oil, gas

Uganda has announced that it will release plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 at the UN Cop 28 climate summit in the UAE next month, adding that the country will mobilise oil and gas revenues to achieve its energy transition goals.

"We are fully focused on ensuring our energy security, so the oil and gas sector, which we are developing in a sustainable way environmentally, will support us in our energy transition plan by providing the required financing", said the secretary of the ministry of Energy and Mineral Development Irene Bateebe. She added that the country will use the revenue generated by its "new oil and gas sector to ensure projects to develop energy from wind, solar and sustainable biomass for isolated off-grid communities".

The strategy will be built on three pillars — expansion of renewable energy — especially hydropower, financing reforestation programmes to meet commitments made at Cop 26 and Cop 27, and ensuring universal access to electricity in the country by 2040.

"We commit to continuing the development of renewables and decarbonisation, but we are also committed to the country's economic development," Bateebe said.

Uganda is pursuing a programme to develop nearly 52,000MW of hydropower by 2040. Around 80pc of Uganda's energy already comes from clean hydropower, according to Bateebe.

The building of a new 600MW hydropower dam was partly financed by the new Uganda Petroleum Fund established in coordination with the ministry of finance to support infrastructure development in the country, she said.

Uganda estimates oil and gas developments plans will provide a boost of more than $40bn to the economy over the next 25 year.

TotalEnergies began drilling operations at the 190,000 b/d Tilenga oil field in the Lake Albert region of Uganda in July, ahead of planned first oil production in 2025. TotalEnergies and CNOOC are leading the upstream development in partnership with Uganda's state-owned Unoc. It is envisaged that by 2025 at least 70 wells will be in place, paving the way for commercial production. The project will be served by the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), which will link the fields to the Tanzanian port of Tanga. But EACOP has faced strong opposition since its inception, with environmental campaign groups putting pressure on financial institutions not to fund the project because of the associated ecological and humanitarian risks.

By Ieva Paldaviciute