Ernest Rubondo, Executive Director at PAU addressing the media about the Authority’s 10 years of existence The Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU) has revealed that since the discovery of oil wells in Uganda in 2006, over US$11.11Bn (UGX40.112Trn) has so far been invested in the oil and gas sector.20 years down the road, Uganda is set to get first oil flow in 2026.The revelation was made by Ernest Rubondo, Executive Director at PAU during a press briefing held on 19th November 2025 in Entebbe to commemorate the Authority’s 10 years of existence.“To date, a total of just over US$11.11Billion has been invested in the country’s petroleum sector by the end of June 2025, out of which US$1.96 billion and US$2.49 billion was invested in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Of this total investment, US$7.8 billion was invested in the exploration and preparation of the oil fields for production, while US$3.3 billion has been invested in EACOP. Over US$4 billion is continuing to be invested in the preparation for production over the period of 2025 to 2027, as the country commences crude oil production and concludes development,” Rubondo said.Commanding over US$15Billion investment portfolio, Rubondo provided progress on the Kingfisher, Tilenga and East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) projects ahead of the commercial production of the First Oil expected during the second half of 2026, indicating that for the Kingfisher project, all the 19 wells required for First Oil have now been drilled, while 164 out of 170 wells (97%) required for First Oil in the Tilenga project have been drilled, while all the pipes required for EACOP have been delivered at the coast in Mombasa.“For the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, manufacturing and delivery of all the pipes required for this 1443km long Pipeline were delivered to the port of Dar es Salaam last month, and as of last week, all these pipes had been moved from the port to the respective destinations along the pipeline route. The Authority is regulating the ongoing stringing, welding, testing and laying of the hundreds of kilometers of pipes for the pipeline which currently is ongoing along the pipeline corridor. Close to 1000 km of line pipes have now been welded, and 200km tested and buried. Approximately 150km of welded line pipes are in Uganda,” said Rubondo.The Petroleum Authority of Uganda head also didn’t fall short of attacking the activists who spearheaded a campaign against the EACOP due to concerns around the impact the project will have on both the Ugandan and Tanzanian environments, saying that all PAU did was stay on course which in the end silenced the foreign detractors.“These actors were working under deceitful, which is dishonest. They were giving reasons which were not honest. But the authority, together with the other agencies, regulated and monitored these processes to ensure that there was no gap left for these negative actors to take advantage. And I’m sure you can see how they were scattered; you can’t even find them now; they were telling lies,” he said.“All the government had to do was stay the course, do the right thing, and now the results are out. Uganda has one of the most technologically advanced and least carbon-intense projects in the world, which are on course to achieve a net gain on biodiversity with negligible impact on the natural environment and these activities are bringing the country to this level of admiration,” added Rubondo.According to Petroleum Authority Uganda, the overall completion rates for these projects currently stand at 60% for Tilenga, 74% for Kingfisher and 75% for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline.Rubondo assured Ugandans of the environment safeguards that have been put in place to protect Uganda from the disastrous effects of oil production arguing that unlike in some countries where the management of petroleum waste or the oil spills have led to undesired environmental and social consequences, in Uganda these aspects have been prepared for and they are being regulated to ensure that they cause no adverse effects.He remarked, “All the waste generated from petroleum operations in the country is being managed at designated state-of-the-art facilities. These facilities include thermal desorption units, which are not common parts of the waste management systems. These facilities have been purposely designed and constructed to manage the waste generated from petroleum activities. So, you will not hear of incidents of pollution from waste from the oil and gas activities in the country.”Following the completion of the National Petroleum Data Repository (NPDR) in 2021, the Authority is currently establishing a Real Time Monitoring Centre (RTMC) that will enable the receiving of real time data which Rubondo said will enhance the monitoring of drilling, production, and crude oil transportation.By Prisca Wanyenya The post Investment In Uganda’s Oil & Gas Sector Hits UGX40Trn Mark As Petroleum Authority Marks 10 Years appeared first on Business Focus.