20101011
Monitor

The Australian government has announced plans to venture into Uganda's oil market, promising mutual benefits. Mr Stephen Bohnen, the executive officer, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Queensland, has said his government has finalised plans to engage the Ugandan government over prospects of including it among the partners, especially in the oil sector.

Cordial relationship

"We have a cordial relation with Uganda and the delegates here have brought to our attention that there are opportunities for us to enter into Uganda's oil industry. We are engaging in high level talks to come out with an agreement," he said during celebrations to mark Uganda's 48th independence anniversary in Brisbane on Saturday.

Mr Bohnen, who represented Australia's Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd, said the high profile dialogue would enable both countries come out with a comprehensive agreement that would ensure they benefit mutually from the oil deal.

At various levels of negotiation, he said, the Australian government was involving the major stakeholders-the mining magnates.

"We are involving and will continue engaging our miners to be able to identify where they would want to put their investments in Uganda's oil business," said Mr Bohnen.

The Ugandan High Commissioner to Australia, Dr James Lukabyo, said the venture would be a major boost in both countries' trade and diplomatic relations.

"We have had tremendous talks with the Australian government over this issue for many years. We are pleased with this country's continued co-operation," he said, adding that the first round of talks attracted Hardman Resources, a giant Australian mining company into Uganda's oil industry.

Dr Lukabyo, who is also Uganda's High Commissioner to New Zealand and South Pacific Islands, said the new round of negotiations with the Australian government would yield bigger investments.

Other interests

Dr Lukabyo told the Daily Monitor in an interview that Uganda should also be able to reap big from copper minerals, which he is fronting alongside the oil stake. He said the country is endowed with huge deposits of copper in Kilembe on the Uganda- DR Congo border.

Uganda's oil was discovered by an Australian Company, Hardman Resources, under Lake Albert. In Uganda, Tullow oil estimate that there is 700 million barrels of oil under Lake Albert.

And according to Dr Lukabyo, Uganda needs only 11,000 barrels of oil per day, meaning foreign companies are interested to enter the market to develop commercialisation options such as exports of oil to international markets, especially at this time when more has been discovered in other areas such s Western Uganda.