The Central Processing Facility for the Tilenga Project operated by Total is taking shapeTotalEnergies EP Uganda (TEP Uganda), the operator of the Tilenga Oil Production Project and CNOOC Uganda Ltd, the operator of the Kingfisher Development Project (KFDA), are working around the clock to deliver first oil before the end of 2026.A total of 169 oil wells have been drilled by the two companies as at September 2025, out of the over 450 wells on 35 well-pads.A well pad is a cleared and leveled area of land used to access oil and gas reserves. It provides a stable surface for a drilling rig and can be designed to accommodate a single well or multiple wells drilled in different directions.TotalEnergies is tasked with drilling 420 wells on 31 oil pads located in Buliisa and Nwoya (within Murchison Falls National Park) districts.Officials from TEP Uganda say their well pads have between 15-20 oil wells each.“For Tilenga, the target is to drill 170 wells to hit first oil. To date, 149 wells have been drilled out of 420,” says Anita Kayongo, Corporate Affairs & Communications Manager at TEP Uganda, adding: “We don’t need to drill all the 420 wells for us to have first oil.”TEP Uganda has three oil rigs currently operating both in the North and South of the Nile, while CNOOC operates only one oil rig given the size of its operational area.Out of the 31 oil production wells spread across 4 well pads in the Kingfisher Development Area, a total of 20 wells have successfully been drilled.Maria V. Naiga, the Well Control Engineer at CNOOC says on average, it takes them between 20 to 30 days to drill a single well depending on its design.“As CNOOC, we have so far drilled 16 wells, but during exploration phase, 4 wells were drilled. These confirmed that indeed there was oil and informed the choice of location of our well pads. In total, out of 31 wells, 20 wells have been drilled,” she says.This means that CNOOC is left with 11 wells to complete the drilling phase, while Total is left with about 251.Naiga says CNOOC’s Land Rig (LR) is customized for their offshore operations.“The deepest well at the Kingfisher is around 7.5km. The rig was customized for this operation. That’s why we procured a rig that can drill up to 8km,” Naiga says, adding that it’s an environmentally-friendly semi-automated rig with a noise reduction system so as not to disrupt the host communities and the surrounding environment.She says the drilling is both horizontal and vertical given the fact that much of the oil at the Kingfisher is below Lake Albert.CNOOC’s Land Rig in operationJulius Balamaga, Senior Drilling Engineer at Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU), who is overseeing Total’s ongoing drilling on behalf of PAU, says the drilling efficiency in Tilenga has improved; they are now able drill a well in 9 days, down from 11 days when drilling started.“We first drill a well on paper… we do simulations and see how to improve efficiency. There’s automated drilling as well as casing while drilling which saves time. We are having smoother drilling than before,” he says, describing rigs operating in Tilenga as “the most silent rigs you’ll ever find on the planet.”Asked on the time line when the drilling of all the 420 wells in Tilenga will be completed, Balamaga said: “The drilling is ongoing. We hope to have all the wells drilled by 2028. We have already done 149. We normally drill 70 to 80 wells a year, but with improved drilling efficiency, we could go up to 100 wells per year.”At peak production, Total will produce 190,000 barrels of crude oil per day, while CNOOC will produce 40,000, bringing the total to 230,000 barrels per day.Key infrastructure taking shapeGovernment and oil companies are confident that first oil will flow before the end of 2026. The oil companies are setting up key facilities to facilitate the transportation of crude oil from the oilfields to the refinery and export hub in Kabaale, Hoima district.The Central Processing Facilities (CPF) at both Tilenga and Kingfisher are taking shape. The CPF is central because it’s where oil is separated from the gas, water, sand, solvents, or additives it may contain before it is transported by the feeder pipelines to the main refinery and export hub in Kabaale, Hoima.Tanks within CNOOC’s CPFHowever, crude oil production will initially commence without a key infrastructure- the refinery. The completion of Kabalega International Airport which is key in facilitating the transportation of equipment that will be used to construct the refinery is expected to be completed in March 2026.The airport is now 98% complete, with construction of the control tower building and installation of key infrastructures on course.This means that Ugandans will have to wait a bit longer to have petrol and diesel products from Uganda’s crude powering their cars and other machines.They will further have to be patient and wait for the refinery before they can realise other products for petrol chemicals out of the refinery.Gloria Sebikari – Manager Corporate Affairs, Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU) told Business Focus that oil production will go on- initially without the refinery.Gloria Sebikari – Manager Corporate Affairs, Petroleum Authority of Uganda, speaking to the press. In the background, is the Total rig drilling on at the Ngiri 3 well pad in BuliisaShe says Government and the oil companies signed a memorandum of understanding on commercialization that provided for refining, crude oil export and use of gas for power.“Government’s major interest was the refinery and the companies gave justification why we need a pipeline. They said you need two outlets for crude oil because the refinery is like a car; sometimes it will be in the garage for maintenance; where will your crude oil go when it’s under maintenance? To improve on the economics of the project, we decided to have both the refinery and the pipeline,” she says.She adds: “What was agreed was that no one project will stop the other from moving along; if the refinery comes first, then the oil goes there, if the pipeline comes first, then the oil goes there. When both are ready, the refinery will be given priority. Today, the pipeline is ahead of the refinery and when we are ready to produce, the oil will go to the pipeline and when both are ready, they’ll share but the refinery will have first-call on production. The refinery capacity is 60,000 barrels per day. This means that if you’re producing at 150, 000 barrels per day, the refinery will take its 60,000 and the pipeline takes the 90,000, but that’s when they’re both fully operational.”According to PAU, the estimated investment cost for the Tilenga Project is US$5 billion and its overall progress stands at over 57%, while the estimated investment cost for the Kingfisher project is US$ 2-3 billion with the overall progress of the project at over 70%.The post 169 Oil Wells Successfully Drilled As Uganda Gears Up For First Oil Flow In 2026 appeared first on Business Focus.