In line with Oranto Petroleum’s commitment to domestic capacity building and local content development across sub-Saharan Africa, the company organized a tender workshop in Uganda in partnership with the Petroleum Authority of Uganda, the Local Government Administration and KITADI consultancy.

Organized in the region of the Albertine Graben where Oranto Petroleum has its Ngassa licenses, the workshop was attended by over 250 participants, a majority of which were business owners and entrepreneurs.

“Oranto understands that oil resources have the potential to provide immense benefits to African nations through employment of the local workforce, and can boost local communities and generate rural transformation,” declared Prince Arthur Eze, Chairman of Atlas Oranto Petroleum. “When we hire, train, promote and give contracts to Ugandan nationals, it is a victory for the oil Industry and country. We are thankful to President Yoweri Museveni and the people of Uganda for working closely with the oil industry to ensure we all succeed. With the work done so far by our technical teams, we are confident we will soon announce a discovery once we proceed to drilling wells in Uganda,” added Prince Arthur Eze.

The workshop notably provided information on training and capacity building in Uganda’s oil & gas sector, and gave insights to participants into the best opportunities the oil sector provides in income generation across agriculture, business incubation, transportation, storage, waste management, trade and services like banking and insurance. Critical skills in local content, enterprise development and innovation were also provided to participants.

“The Chamber welcomes programs like this and salutes Oranto for living up to its commitment to the Ugandan people and local content. The Chamber wants to support companies that contribute in enabling Uganda’s workforce and supplier development, and collaborating with the government to support the growth and success of Uganda’s new energy industry,” stated Mickael Vogel, Director of Strategy of the African Energy Chamber.

Oranto Petroleum was awarded the Ngassa license in October 2017 and has been making steady progress on its work program since then. This notably includes the completion of the ESIA studies, seismic acquisition, and the Lake drilling solution study.  The company now plan to drill in the next two years and is encouraging local companies to be ready to participate in drilling support activities.