13 A Critical Intertemporal Analysis of Uganda’s Fiscal Regime …
405
1991 marked a major reference point in the history and development of Uganda’s oil and gas industry for two reasons. Firstly, the
Petroleum Unit within the Geological Surveys and Mines Department (GSMD) was transformed into the Petroleum Exploration and
Production Department (PEPD) mandated to supervise and manage the
country’s upstream petroleum activities (Twebaze 2013). Secondly, Fina
Exploration Uganda was granted a license to explore the entire Albertine
Graben. However, the license was not renewed in 1993 due to unfulfilled
work programmes. A subsequent uptick in exploration interest within
the country facilitated the gazetting of 11 Exploration areas within the
Graben subsequently licensed out to Independent Oil companies (Patey
2017).
On January 6, 2006, the first commercial discovery of petroleum was
declared when Mputa-1 well encountered hydrocarbons in both targeted
zones. The zones were subsequently confirmed as hydrocarbon bearing
by wireline logging (Twebaze 2013). While the geological potential of the
country had been proven, there was a need for a robust regulatory and
legal regime to support the development and production phases (Patey
2017).
A moratorium on further licensing was imposed in 2007 to facilitate the enactment of a robust regulatory and fiscal framework. The
National Oil and Gas Policy (NOGP) of 2008 and two new legislation;
the Petroleum (Exploration, Development and Production) Act and the
Petroleum (Refining, Conversion, Transmission and Midstream Storage)
Act both of 2013; were enacted to form the foundation of this regime.
The Upstream regulations enacted in 2016 provide further cover in the
upstream areas of General, Health and Safety, Metering and National
Content.
The first licensing round in the country’s history covering six blocks;
namely Ngassa (410 Km 2 ), Taitai and Karuka (565 Km 2 ), Ngaji (895
Km 2 ), Mvule (344 Km 2 ) with Turaco (425 Km 2 ) and Kanywantaba
(344 Km 2 ); was announced in February 2015 following the lifting of
the moratorium. The licensing round was intended to facilitate increased
investment and develop the country’s project portfolio in a bid to
enhance competition and promote cost efficiency in line with the NOGP
(DoP 2017). With a recorded rate of the success rate of exploration wells
405
1991 marked a major reference point in the history and development of Uganda’s oil and gas industry for two reasons. Firstly, the
Petroleum Unit within the Geological Surveys and Mines Department (GSMD) was transformed into the Petroleum Exploration and
Production Department (PEPD) mandated to supervise and manage the
country’s upstream petroleum activities (Twebaze 2013). Secondly, Fina
Exploration Uganda was granted a license to explore the entire Albertine
Graben. However, the license was not renewed in 1993 due to unfulfilled
work programmes. A subsequent uptick in exploration interest within
the country facilitated the gazetting of 11 Exploration areas within the
Graben subsequently licensed out to Independent Oil companies (Patey
2017).
On January 6, 2006, the first commercial discovery of petroleum was
declared when Mputa-1 well encountered hydrocarbons in both targeted
zones. The zones were subsequently confirmed as hydrocarbon bearing
by wireline logging (Twebaze 2013). While the geological potential of the
country had been proven, there was a need for a robust regulatory and
legal regime to support the development and production phases (Patey
2017).
A moratorium on further licensing was imposed in 2007 to facilitate the enactment of a robust regulatory and fiscal framework. The
National Oil and Gas Policy (NOGP) of 2008 and two new legislation;
the Petroleum (Exploration, Development and Production) Act and the
Petroleum (Refining, Conversion, Transmission and Midstream Storage)
Act both of 2013; were enacted to form the foundation of this regime.
The Upstream regulations enacted in 2016 provide further cover in the
upstream areas of General, Health and Safety, Metering and National
Content.
The first licensing round in the country’s history covering six blocks;
namely Ngassa (410 Km 2 ), Taitai and Karuka (565 Km 2 ), Ngaji (895
Km 2 ), Mvule (344 Km 2 ) with Turaco (425 Km 2 ) and Kanywantaba
(344 Km 2 ); was announced in February 2015 following the lifting of
the moratorium. The licensing round was intended to facilitate increased
investment and develop the country’s project portfolio in a bid to
enhance competition and promote cost efficiency in line with the NOGP
(DoP 2017). With a recorded rate of the success rate of exploration wells