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THE Government will not rush to approve the sale of the $1.5b oil fields before its interests are ‘satisfactorily’ met. This reaffirms its position to build an oil refinery in the country.The fields belong to Heritage Oil.
“We have different options, but I can assure you that the Government cannot approve a project that does not satisfy our conditions,” Ernest Rubondo, the commissioner in charge of petroleum exploration and production department, said in an interview.
“We are still reviewing the process to ensure they meet our interests.”
The Government wants early commercalisation of the petroleum resources, value addition and listing by the companies on the Ugandan stock market.
The other conditions are based on the prospective firm’s investments in Uganda’s oil and gas sector and avoidance of a monopoly in the Albertine Graben rift basin.
The declaration came at a time when Tullow, one of the firm interested in buying the fields, said its bid would be “approved in few weeks time.”
“A formal request for the Government consent for the assets to be transferred to Tullow was submitted. They have indicated their intention to approve this transaction in the next few weeks,” the firm said.
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/220/719395