KAMPALA, Jan. 24 - Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has met and held discussions over oil deal with Aiden Heavey, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Tullow Oil, the Irish company currently exploring oil in western Uganda.
According to a State House news release received on Saturday, Museveni said the government officials are due to meet to discuss the matter, and added that they would be choosing only capable and competent companies to participate in the oil and gas sector.
The Friday meeting at State House in Entebbe, about 40 km south of Kampala, followed the Ugandan government's announcement on Thursday that it supports Heritage Oil to sell its assets in the country's two oil blocks to Italian oil giant Eni Spa in order to avoid monopoly that would be created if Tullow purchased the assets.
Heritage entered into a sale and purchase agreement with Eni to sell its stake in Block 1 and 3A at a cost of 1.5 billion U.S. dollars but Tullow pre-empted the move by saying it has the first option to buy the shares under its agreement with Heritage. The fields are jointly owned by Tullow and Heritage on a 50-50 percent venture.
During the meeting with a Tullow delegation led by its CEO, Ugandan President Museveni told his visitors that the Ministry of Energy has accused Tullow for lack of appraisal and evaluation of some of the oil discoveries, which has led to delays in decision making.
The CEO of Tullow, flanked by the company's Business Unit Manager for Uganda and East Africa Brian Glover and Elly Karuhanga, the president and director of Tullow Uganda, requested the Ugandan government to honor any contractual obligations signed with them and ensure that both sides benefit from the venture.
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini visited the East African country on Jan.15 2010 and lobbied the country to offer the deal to Eni, promising an oil refinery and a power plant which the country is in dire need of to address its electricity crisis.
The Heritage/Eni deal, however, is still subject to approval by Heritage shareholders at a meeting scheduled for Jan. 25.
Uganda's recently discovered oil is attracting a lot of attention from international oil giants.
So far the country has discovered an estimated 2 billion barrels of oil and according to experts there is a possibility of discovering more.
According to a State House news release received on Saturday, Museveni said the government officials are due to meet to discuss the matter, and added that they would be choosing only capable and competent companies to participate in the oil and gas sector.
The Friday meeting at State House in Entebbe, about 40 km south of Kampala, followed the Ugandan government's announcement on Thursday that it supports Heritage Oil to sell its assets in the country's two oil blocks to Italian oil giant Eni Spa in order to avoid monopoly that would be created if Tullow purchased the assets.
Heritage entered into a sale and purchase agreement with Eni to sell its stake in Block 1 and 3A at a cost of 1.5 billion U.S. dollars but Tullow pre-empted the move by saying it has the first option to buy the shares under its agreement with Heritage. The fields are jointly owned by Tullow and Heritage on a 50-50 percent venture.
During the meeting with a Tullow delegation led by its CEO, Ugandan President Museveni told his visitors that the Ministry of Energy has accused Tullow for lack of appraisal and evaluation of some of the oil discoveries, which has led to delays in decision making.
The CEO of Tullow, flanked by the company's Business Unit Manager for Uganda and East Africa Brian Glover and Elly Karuhanga, the president and director of Tullow Uganda, requested the Ugandan government to honor any contractual obligations signed with them and ensure that both sides benefit from the venture.
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini visited the East African country on Jan.15 2010 and lobbied the country to offer the deal to Eni, promising an oil refinery and a power plant which the country is in dire need of to address its electricity crisis.
The Heritage/Eni deal, however, is still subject to approval by Heritage shareholders at a meeting scheduled for Jan. 25.
Uganda's recently discovered oil is attracting a lot of attention from international oil giants.
So far the country has discovered an estimated 2 billion barrels of oil and according to experts there is a possibility of discovering more.
