Uganda has announced one of its most significant energy breakthroughs in more than a decade, after years of lagging behind other emerging African oil-producing nations.
The state-owned Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) said it had identified nine potential oil wells in the Kasuruban block, containing “significant new crude oil deposits.”
Preliminary estimates suggest the wells could hold about 600 million barrels of recoverable crude, a volume that would substantially increase Uganda’s proven reserves and reshape expectations for the Albertine Rift Basin, one of East Africa’s most closely watched hydrocarbon regions.
UNOC said the discoveries were made within the 1,285-square-kilometer Kasuruban exploration block, acquired in 2023 under a production-sharing agreement with the government.
While detailed seismic and drilling data were not released, the announcement, shared on the company’s official X account, represents one of the largest additions to Uganda’s resource base since the first Lake Albert finds in the mid-2000s.
Boost for the Albertine Rift Basin
The discovery comes as Uganda ramps up development of the Tilenga and Kingfisher fields, operated by France’s TotalEnergies and China’s CNOOC.
Commercial production from the two projects is scheduled for the second half of 2026, with peak output projected at roughly 200,000 barrels per day.
Meanwhile, the wider Lake Albert region, long considered Uganda’s energy backbone, already contains more than one billion barrels of oil and gas resource equivalent. The addition of the Kasuruban finds further strengthens the basin’s long-term potential and underscores the country’s growing upstream capabilities.
Pipeline Progress and Export Infrastructure
Despite financing delays and international environmental scrutiny, at least $3.3 billion has already been invested in the project, with TotalEnergies holding a 62% stake.
State-owned companies from Uganda and Tanzania, alongside China’s CNOOC, make up the remainder. However, construction continues, with completion expected ahead of first oil from the Tilenga and Kingfisher fields.
Strategic Implications and Road to First Oil
More than a decade after Uganda confirmed its first commercial oil finds, the nation is still not a producer, delayed by the complexity of building pipelines and a refinery, securing financing, and navigating environmental and community concerns. Commercial production is now slated for mid-2026, assuming current timelines hold.
Together, the Kasuruban discovery, upcoming production from Tilenga and Kingfisher, and the near-completion of EACOP position Uganda as one of sub-Saharan Africa’s emerging oil producers, balancing new reserves with the infrastructure needed to translate potential into revenue and regional energy influence.
