Pipeline to East Africa

The Buliisa District vice chairman Geoffrey Matongo, told Daily Monitor last Monday that the survey looks at feeder oil pipelines that will transport crude oil to CPF, that will eventually carry it to the refinery in Kabale Parish, Buseruka Sub-county in Hoima District and finally to an export pipeline to Tanga in Tanzania.

To ensure that the exercise succeeds, residents of Kabolwa, Serule B, and Bugoigo villages in Buliisa and Butiaba sub-counties were on May 2 sensitised about the development.

"The survey began with mass awareness campaigns last week with the nearby communities and stakeholders' contributions to ensure that the studies identify all potential impacts on people, environment and proposing ways to minimise the effects before construction works of the pipeline starts," Mr Matongo said.

During a closed-door meeting last Monday with officials from Total E&P, Eco-Consultants and RSK, Mr Matongo, said the district chairperson Mr Simon Agaba Kinene was concerned about the lack of enough land in the district, recommending that some pipelines pass through Murchison Falls National Park.

The chairperson told journalists that no human activity will be carried out in a distance of 10 metres from the pipelines. Construction of the pipeline is projected to be completed by 2020.

More than 6.5 billion barrels of crude oil reserves were discovered from about 40 per cent of the Albertine basin in Western Uganda.

Following a statement released after a meeting between district leaders and Total E&P last month, a CPF, main camp and storage location service company base will be constructed in Ngwedo Sub-county.

Daily Monitor has learnt that some residents have started erecting permanent and semi-permanent houses in Kasenyi and Kisomere villages.