The Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) is seeking bidders to undertake a survey that will inform its decision on where to drill for oil at the Kasuruban Contract Area.
The company, which manages Uganda’s commercial interests in the oil industry, recently issued an Expression of Interest (EOI) call for the provision of services for the acquisition and processing of 150-line kilometres of onshore 2D seismic data for its oil block, with a deadline of receiving bids set for August 2, 2024.
The data will show the areas where oil is trapped in the earth surface, and guide the company on the most favourite site for an oil rig to drill a hole.
The call is part of the work programme that formed the conditions that UNOC agreed to when it signed a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with the government of Uganda in February 2023 to explore the Kasuruban Contract Area.
The 2D seismic data helps with guiding the developer of the project to find a sweet spot on where to place the oil rig and drill a hole, on top of pinpointing different sites of possible appraisal oil wells.
The Kasuruban Contract Area is special.
It is the biggest oil block in terms of size in Uganda, stretching 1,285 square kilometres.
It is the first oil block that government is spearheading as a lead developer. The other oil blocks are being explored and developed by foreign companies.
While UNOC is expected to enter into a joint venture partnership with a private company to develop Kasuruban, the company is yet to publicly announce who it has chosen.
According to UNOC’s schedule, that announcement is expected before the end of this year.
China’s CNOOC had in the past shown interest in partnering government on the Kasuruban; before they went quiet,
After the acquisition of the 2D seismic data, UNOC, together with its JV partner, will undertake engineering studies, and further acquire 3D seismic data. It these studies and data that the company will use to drill exploration wells.
UNOC is scheduled to undertake these activities by the end of 2025, after which it is expected to submit Field Development Plans to the Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU). If these plans are approved, government will issue a production license.
UNOC estimates that there are 300 million barrels of stock tank oil in place at Kasuruban.