The Uganda National Association of Builders, Suppliers and Engineering Contractors held a dialogue focused on strengthening local contractors and suppliers for increased participation in the oil and gas industry, competitiveness in high value speciality works, unlocking high value opportunities in the oil and gas project pipeline for contractors and suppliers and scalling local enterprises through strategic finance, compliance and partnerships.
The dialogue took place at Hotel Africana in Kampala with Godfrey Sselubiri on behalf of Irene Batebe the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development as the keynote speaker.
Ugandan local companies were urged to embrace partnership in the oil and gas sector. Partnerships in Uganda’s oil and gas sector are heavily structured around joint ventures between international companies and the Uganda National Oil Company holding 15% in the key projects such as Tilenga and Kingfisher.
The key aspects of partnership are national content where Petroleum Authority of Uganda mandates that partnerships support local firms with $ 2.2 billion in contracts awarded to Ugandan companies, regional cooperation which is a tripartite partnership between Uganda, Tanzania and Zanzibar that was formed to drive knowledge sharing in the industry and sustainability which is about partnerships such as those with Vivo Energy with the aim to enhance LPG uptake to reduce biomass fuel dependence.
“Uganda’s oil sector presents numerous opportunities but the challenge we have is not opportunities but how to build high level competitiveness to take these opportunities, said Godfrey Sselubiri on behalf of Irene Batebe the Permanent secretary of Ministry of Energy and Mineral development
Some of the partnerships have yielded results for instance, the Petroleum Authority of Uganda recently revealed that Micro Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (MSME) has signed a memorandum of understanding with large and medium contractors that will be working on the East Africa crude pipeline project.
The MSMEs were selected from the 10 districts where the pipeline passes and is part of the $ 500,000 project that Petroleum Authority of Uganda has been implementing with African Development Bank for MSMEs business lineages training along EACOP project.