The Kingfisher Oil Field Development Area in Kikuube District has moved closer to first oil after major pre-commissioning works were completed at its Central Processing Facility (CPF).
The facility, which will separate crude oil from water and gas, stabilise the crude and prepare it for transportation, completed the pre-commissioning phase on August 25, 2026, according to China National Offshore Oil Company Uganda Limited (CNOOC Uganda).
The milestone clears the way for the final commissioning and start-up of the CPF, which is designed to process up to 40,000 barrels of crude oil per day at peak production. CNOOC Uganda President Liu Xiangdong announced the development on Wednesday during the naming ceremony for Uganda’s crude oil project held at the Kingfisher Oil Development Area in Kikuube.
Xiangdong said the completion of pre-commissioning works is a critical step because it bridges the gap between construction and full commissioning and start-up of the facility.
The development comes as drilling and other infrastructure works at Kingfisher continue, with 22 of the planned 31 development wells already drilled. Xiangdong said some of the wells have reached depths of more than seven kilometres below the ground, while production from the field is expected to reach about 25,000 barrels per day within the next two months. He said this production level would be sufficient to support commissioning of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).
The processed crude will be transported from the Kingfisher CPF to the Delivery Point at Nyamasoga Village in Kabaale Parish, Kabaale Sub-county in Hoima District, through a 48-kilometre, 10-inch inner-diameter feeder pipeline. The Kingfisher project is being operated by CNOOC Uganda on behalf of the joint venture partners—TotalEnergies Exploration and Production Uganda (TEPU), which holds a 56.67 percent participating interest, CNOOC Uganda Limited with 28.33 percent, and Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) with 15 percent.
The CPF construction and installation of key equipment have been undertaken by the CCJV. Major components installed at the facility include crude oil storage tanks, sludge storage facilities, separators, fire water pumps and tanks, a water treatment plant, fuel gas compressors and super-heaters, a substation, warehouse and office facilities, a Basic Sediment and Water (BS&W) plant and a truck-loading skid.
The project has also completed installation of de-ethaniser towers, reflux drums, export tanks and reboiler tanks, as well as more than 18 kilometres of buried flow lines. A Lake Water Abstraction Station and supporting infrastructure, including camps, a support base, materials yard, safety checkpoint, jetty and access roads, have also been established.
Beyond infrastructure development, CNOOC Uganda says the Kingfisher project has created opportunities for Ugandan companies in petroleum technical services, construction, transportation and logistics. Xiangdong said thousands of Ugandans have also secured employment through the project, while the company is working with the Uganda Petroleum Institute Kigumba (UPIK) to establish a centre of excellence equipped with an ICT centre, a real drilling rig for training and internationally recognised certification courses.
“Thousands of Ugandans have gotten an opportunity to work on this project. This is how we measure the success. We want the knowledge, skills and experience gained here to remain in Uganda and be passed onto the next generations,” he said. President Yoweri Museveni commended CNOOC and TotalEnergies for their role in developing Uganda’s oil and gas sector.
Museveni said he was impressed by the progress made at Kingfisher and the establishment of key oil and gas installations needed to move the country towards first oil. He also reiterated the government’s plan to establish an oil refinery, saying local refining would stimulate the growth of industries and create employment for Ugandans.
Energy and Mineral Development Minister Dr. Monica Musenero said Uganda’s oil and gas resources were being translated into productive assets, infrastructure, skills and businesses as the country moves towards commercial production. She said Uganda’s petroleum development has been guided by deliberate government policy aimed at using natural resources as a foundation for socio-economic transformation.
Musenero said investments in the sector had created an integrated petroleum development programme linking upstream oil fields to transportation, refining, industrial development and international markets. She said the immediate priority was to ensure that these investments deliver the intended national benefits, with first oil being the government’s primary focus.
Musenero said her ministry, working with the Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU), UNOC, licensed oil companies and other partners, remains focused on getting Uganda’s oil into production as soon as possible. She cautioned, however, that Uganda should not become a country that only produces and exports crude oil, but should also use petroleum resources to transform the productive capacity of the economy.
The Final Investment Decision (FID) for the Kingfisher Oil Field Development Area was announced in February 2022 alongside those for the Tilenga project and EACOP. Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) for Kingfisher was completed in February 2018, while the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) was completed and certified by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) in February 2020.
The Kingfisher development is planned to comprise 31 development wells drilled from four well pads using a single drilling rig. President Museveni launched drilling operations at Kingfisher on January 24, 2023, following the erection of the LR8001 rig, which was specially designed for drilling the field’s deep wells.
The completion of pre-commissioning at the CPF marks another major step towards commercial oil production, with the Kingfisher field now moving into the final stages of preparation for production and connection to the wider petroleum infrastructure-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
