Ernest Rubondo has left office as Executive Director of the Petroleum Authority of Uganda after completing the maximum of two terms. The PAU Board and the Ministry of Energy have, in the meantime, asked the Director of Finance at the Authority to take over the petroleum regulator under an acting head as Uganda moves closer to first oil.
Rubondo’s contract expired on August 31, 2026, after nearly a decade at the helm of the Authority, which he led as its pioneer Executive Director.
His departure comes as Uganda unveils Sweet Pearl Crude as the blending name for crude oil to be produced from the Albertine Graben, and as the country’s petroleum sector enters the final stages of preparations for commercial production.
The Authority advertised the Executive Director’s position in December 2025, about eight months before Rubondo’s contract expired, in anticipation that his successor would be appointed before his departure.
However, the appointment had not been concluded by the time Rubondo left office.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development Irene Pauline Batebe confirmed that the transition at PAU had started, saying an acting Executive Director is currently in place as the ministry prepares to appoint a substantive head.
“We have now started the transition at the Petroleum Authority of Uganda, where we will soon announce the substantive executive director. But for now, the acting director is in place for that purpose,” Batebe said.
Sources in the petroleum sector have identified Otonga Ochan as the acting Executive Director.
Ochan is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants of the United Kingdom and a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda.
He holds a Master of Business Administration from Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University in Scotland. He has more than 21 years of experience in strategic planning, financial management, corporate governance, leadership and administration.
Ochan previously served for nine years as Commissioner of Corporate Services at the Uganda Revenue Authority, where he oversaw Finance, Administration, Human Resources and Information Technology.
His assumption of the acting role comes at a critical point for PAU, which is expected to regulate Uganda’s petroleum industry as the country moves from project development into commercial production.
Batebe said Rubondo had served during one of the most consequential periods in Uganda’s petroleum history.
“Mr. Ernest Rubondo was the inaugural executive director of the Petroleum Authority of Uganda, where he has served judiciously for 10 years,” she said.
Under Rubondo, PAU oversaw the regulatory aspects of the development of Uganda’s major petroleum projects, including the Kingfisher and Tilenga oil fields and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline.
The Kingfisher Development Area, operated by China National Offshore Oil Corporation, is about 80 percent complete, while its preparedness for first oil stands at 98 percent, Batebe said.
She said Kingfisher is expected to be ready for first oil by the end of September and to produce about 40,000 barrels of oil per day at peak.The Tilenga project, operated by TotalEnergies, is expected to produce approximately 190,000 barrels per day at peak, while the East African Crude Oil Pipeline is 92.7 percent complete.
The new substantive Executive Director will inherit a regulator facing the transition from overseeing petroleum project development to regulating commercial production.
The Authority will also continue to oversee national content, technical standards and other aspects of the petroleum value chain as Uganda begins producing and marketing its crude.
Batebe said Ugandan enterprises had received contracts and business opportunities worth about 2.27 billion US dollars out of approximately seven billion dollars invested in the sector so far.
The government is also preparing for a third petroleum licensing round covering the Kadam-Moroto, Lake Kyoga and Hoima basins.
Meanwhile, the process of selecting Rubondo’s substantive successor remains ongoing. The ministry had previously said the recruitment process was underway after the position was advertised in December 2025.
Sources had indicated to URN that geologist and geoscientist Fred Kabanda is among those being considered for the position, with his name reportedly forwarded to the appointing authority, President Yoweri Museveni.
Kabanda previously served as Assistant Commissioner for Oil and Gas Development and Production in the former Petroleum Exploration and Production Department and currently heads the Non-Renewable Natural Resources Division at the African Development Bank’s African Natural Resources Management and Investment Centre.
URN could not independently verify whether Kabanda is the leading candidate or whether his name has been formally submitted to the President.
The delay in appointing Rubondo’s successor has raised questions about the selection process after the shortlisting and interviewing of the applicants.
There were media reports about an internal struggle among the current directors, most of whom possess the required academic qualifications and experience’
in the petroleum sector, particularly given PAU’s central role as Uganda approaches first oil. Batebe did not give a specific date for the appointment but said the substantive Executive Director would be announced soon-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
