Gabriel Obiang Lima, the Minister for Finance, Economy and Planning of the petroleum-rich Equatorial Guinea says that while Uganda and Africa must adopt the energy transition to cleaner and renewable sources, the countries must find where sustainability and affordability lie.
Uganda is
urged to focus on exploiting resources where it has the potential to generate
energy that is most affordable to the ordinary person and therefore
sustainable.
Gabriel
Obiang Lima, the Minister for Finance, Economy and Planning of the
petroleum-rich Equatorial Guinea, says that while Uganda and Africa must adopt
the energy transition to cleaner and renewable sources, the countries must find
where sustainability and affordability lie.
He was
speaking at the 10th Energy Convention organised by the Uganda Chamber
of Energy and Minerals in Kampala, organised under the theme, “Integrating Oil,
Gas, and Renewable Energy for a Sustainable Future.”
Obiang said
that while, for example, Uganda has favourable weather for solar energy, it can
only be used for light duty in homesteads, like lighting, because otherwise, it
becomes too expensive for an average person, especially to install.
Referring to
Uganda’s battle with NGOs opposed to the development of its fossil fuel
industry and especially the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, Obiang said Uganda
could not afford not to “complete what you have started”.
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Uganda’s
oil and gas industry development plan includes turning oil into light
petroleum gas to supplement hydroelectricity, which currently dominates the electricity
generation.
Gas and solar will also be used to power the heated and buried
crude export pipeline. He
wondered why pipeline projects in Uganda and Africa were being fought by the West, and yet the countries in Europe have largely developed courtesy of the
developed underground oil and gas pipelines.
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Okaasai
Sidronius Opolot, the State Minister for Energy, said the government will
continue developing its available resources to meet the ever-growing energy demand, but mindful of the environment and climate change.
He reiterated
the need for more generation stations, saying that the Electricity Regulatory
Authority (ERA) estimates that the demand could surpass the supply capacity in
three years if no more investments were made within that period.
Uganda’s
electricity demand is growing at about 10.4, according to ERA, which calls for
new generation and transmission projects to stay ahead of demand, and avoid the
supply scarcity like what South Africa has gone through despite its vast
resources.
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Okaasai
says the government will continue venturing into cleaner and renewable
resources on top of the oil and gas, and hydropower.
“The integration of oil, gas, and renewables is
not a choice—it is a necessity,” the minister said, adding, “a sustainable
energy future for Uganda will depend on our ability to strike the right balance
between exploiting our petroleum resources and investing in clean, reliable,
and affordable alternatives.”
The Ministry
of Energy and Mineral Development has a 15-year plan to have an installed
capacity of 52,000 megawatts from the current 2040 megawatts, which it thinks will be
necessary for the domestic and export markets.
On their
part, the Chamber of Energy and Minerals called for the fast-tracking of the
energy infrastructure projects, both in electricity and petroleum, but also a
stricter ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) framework.
Aggrey
Ashaba, the Chairman of the Council, hailed the EACOP financial closure and the
signing of the refinery agreement but called on the parties involved to fast-track
the projects to ensure that the local companies that have already secured
investments do not incur losses due to delays.
Ashaba
also said the same about the National Content Fund, saying that its operationalisation
would ensure that the Tier 2 and Tier 3 companies in the oil and gas sector,
which are usually the local companies, have healthy cash flows.
It is
reported that more than half of the oil and gas sector contracts went to Ugandan
companies, but Ashaba says there is a need to define clearly who a Ugandan or Ugandan
company is to ensure maximum benefits for citizens.
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Apart from
oil and gas, solar and hydropower, the government says that the mining
sub-sector is key to unlocking the Energy Transition through supplying the
strategic minerals required.
“As a step
in this direction, the Ministry entered a Production Sharing Agreement with
Sarrai Group in a joint venture with the Uganda National Mining Company for the
redevelopment of Kilembe copper mine in Western Uganda,” Minister Okaasai said.
The government is advancing several other strategies, including the setting up of mineral markets
and buying centres aimed at streamlining mineral trade.
