Burning of renewable resources provides much of the energy in Uganda, though the government is attempting to become energy self-sufficient. While much of the hydroelectric potential of the country is untapped, the government decision to expedite creation of domestic petroleum capacity coupled with the discovery of large petroleum reserves holds the promise of a significant change in Uganda's status as an energy-importing country. A natural resource qualifies as a renewable resource if it is replenished by natural processes at a rate comparable to its rate of consumption by humans or other users. ... Hydroelectricity is the worlds leading renewable energy source. ...

Background

In the 1980s, charcoal and fuel wood met more than 95% of Uganda's total energy needs. These further provided 75% of commercial energy needs, while 21% was provided by petroleum products. Only 3% of commercial energy was provided by electricity on a grid. Attempts to convert the population to fuel-efficient stoves proved difficult due to resistance to change. The various wars of the 1980s resulted in the destruction of conductors and transformers, though the Uganda Electricity Board (UEB) managed to extend power to a few new factories. Charcoal is the blackish residue consisting of impure carbon obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. ... Lightning strikes during a night-time thunderstorm. ...

Hydroelectricity

Nalubaale Power Station

Much of the White Nile winds its way through the country, though little of the hydroelectric potential of the country is harnessed. The poor maintenance during the politically unstable 1980s further resulted in a drop in production at the Owen Falls Dam (now Nalubaale Power Station), at the mouth of the White Nile, from 635.5 million kilowatt-hours in 1986 to 609.9 million kilowatt-hours in 1987, with six of ten generators broken by the end of 1988.^[1] A 200 MW extension to Nalubaale in 2000 raised total production to 380 MW, cementing Uganda's status as the major energy producer in East Africa.^[2] Owen Falls Dam generating electricity. ... The White Nile is a river of Africa, one of the two main tributaries of the Nile, the other being the Blue Nile. ... Owen Falls Dam generating electricity. ...

The planned $550 million dam at Bujagali Falls has been plagued with problems. It has been heavily criticized for being unnecessarily destructive to the environment and forcing the displacement of a large number of residents. The World Bank suspended its support for the project in 2002, followed by the pullout the following year of US-based contractor AES. A downstream sluice dam at Karuma Falls is less controversial but repercussions from the Bujagali troubles have slowed progress towards actual construction.^[2] View of Bujagali Falls Bujagali (or Budhagali, according to the dialect of the Basoga tribe settling in this area) is a waterfall near Jinja in Uganda where the River Nile comes out of Lake Victoria, the source of the Nile. ... ... AES is a three-letter abbreviation with multiple meanings, as described below: Advanced Encryption Standard, in cryptography, a standardized block cipher Advanced Encryption Standard process, in cryptography, the process of choosing an algorithm for standardization as AES Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron Aes (album) AES Corporation AES Data Ltd, Canada AES/EBU...

Oil and natural gas

Uganda is highly vulnerable to oil price shocks as it imports almost all of its 7000 bbl/day of oil (2004 figure) from the Kenyan refinery in Mombasa, which in turns imports crude oil from abroad.^[2] In 1995, the governments of Kenya and Uganda agreed to investigate the possibility of extending the Mombasa-Eldoret pipeline a further 320 km to Kampala. According to the Managing Director of the Kenya Pipeline Company, the $97 million pipeline would provide 1.2 million cubic meters in its first year of operation.^[3] A bio-code programme was implemented in 2000, which allows authorities to determine if an end user is using officially imported petroleum products. The government reported a drop in diluted and adulterated samples taken from gas stations from 20% in December 2000 to 1.5% in September 2001.^[4] Mombasa is the second largest city in Kenya, lying on the Indian Ocean. ... Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario Petroleum (from Greek petra – rock and elaion – oil or Latin oleum – oil ) or crude oil is a thick, dark brown or greenish liquid. ... Eldoret is northwest of Nairobi, near Uganda (click map to enlarge) Eldoret is a town in western Kenya and the administrative centre of Uasin Gishu District of Rift Valley Province. ...

Hoima District (in red), located along Lake Albert, has been the site of the petroleum finds.

By the early 2000s, Uganda was seeking domestic petroleum reserves in response to rising oil prices. In September 2002, Heritage Oil Corporation of Canada announced the first exploratory well, in Block 3, located in the Semiliki Valley in western Uganda, in the hopes of confirming seismic studies showing 1.2 billion barrels of oil in the basin.^[2] In June 2006, Hardman Resources of Australia discovered oil sands at Waranga 1, Waranga 2 and Mputa. President Yoweri Museveni announced that he expected production of 6,000 to 10,000 barrels per day by 2009.^[5] He further announced that a mini-refinery would be set up to produce diesel, kerosene and heavy fuel oil.^[6] Hoima is a district in western Uganda. ... For other uses, see Lake Albert (disambiguation). ... Athabasca Oil Sands Tar sands, also referred to as oil sands, bituminous sands, or (in Venezuela) extra-heavy oil, are a mixture of sand or clay, water, and extremely heavy crude oil. ... Yoweri Kaguta Museveni (born c. ... Diesel or diesel fuel (IPA: ; voiced “s” because of its eponym) is a specific fractional distillate of fuel oil (mostly petroleum) that is used as fuel in a diesel engine invented by German engineer Rudolf Diesel. ... Kerosene or kerosine, also called paraffin oil or paraffin in British usage (not to be confused with the waxy solid also called paraffin wax or just paraffin) is a flammable hydrocarbon liquid. ... An oil tanker taking on bunker fuel. ...

In July 2007, Heritage Oil and Gas, one of several companies prospecting around Lake Albert raised its estimate for the Kingfisher well (block 3A) in Bunyoro, Hoima District, stating they thought it bigger than 600 million barrels of crude. Heritage's partner, London-based Tullow Oil, which had bought Hardman Resources, was more guarded, but stated their confidence that the Albertine Basin as a whole was over one billion barrels. Kingfisher flowed at 14,000 barrels per day. This news came on the heels of Tullow's July 11, 2007 report that the Nzizi 2 appraisal well confirmed the presence of 14 million cubic feet per day of natural gas. Heritage in a report to its partners talked of Ugandan reserves of 2.4 billion barrels worth $7 billion as the "most exciting new play in sub-Saharan Africa in the past decade."^[7] For other uses, see Lake Albert (disambiguation). ... Bunyoro flag The current Kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara and its districts Bunyoro is a region of Uganda, and from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century one of the most powerful kingdoms of East Africa. ... Hoima is a district in western Uganda. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... is the 192nd day of the year (193rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... For other uses, see Natural gas (disambiguation). ...

Excitement was dampened by the deaths in August 3, 2007 of a Congolese soldier and Heritage geologist in a clash on the lake. Both the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda moved troops to the border. This followed the detention by the DRC of four Ugandan soldiers it claimed to be on their side of the border, and preceded the murder of three Ugandan villagers by an incursion of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, a Hutu group descended from those responsible for the 1994 genocide. Relations have been tense since the discovery of oil, as both countries seek to clarify the border delineation on the lake in their favor, in particular the ownership of small Rukwanzi Island. Ugandan foreign minister Sam Kutesa made an emergency visit to Kinshasa in an attempt to smooth tensions. The Economist magazine, noting that the DRC has assigned exploration blocks on its side of the border, proposed that the situation should sort itself amicably: Uganda needs a stable and secure border in order to attract foreign investment developing the oil reserves, while the cost of transporting the oil to the DRC's sole port at Matadi is so prohibitive that the Congolese government is nearly obliged to seek pipeline access through Uganda.^[8] is the 215th day of the year (216th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda was the primary anti-Rwanda rebel group during the latter part of the Second Congo War. ... The Hutu are a Central African ethnic group, living mainly in Rwanda and Burundi. ... The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass killing of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutu sympathizers in Rwanda and was the largest atrocity during the Rwandan Civil War. ... Sam Kutesa is the current foreign minister of Uganda since January 13, 2005. ... Kinshasa (formerly Léopoldville or, before 1960, also Leopoldstad) is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. ... The Economist is a weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd and edited in London, UK. It has been in continuous publication since September 1843. ... The suburbs of Matadi Matadi is a port in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the capital of the province Bas-Congo. ...

Notes and references

The Energy Information Administration (EIA), as part of the U.S. Department of Energy, collects and disseminates data on energy reserves, production, consumption, distribution, prices, technology, and related international, economic, and financial matters. ... is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 108th day of the year (109th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... is the 282nd day of the year (283rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays full 2006 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Xinhua (Chinese:新华通讯社/新華通訊社, pinyin:xīnhuá tōngxùnshè) is also the short for Xinhua News Agency Xinhua (Chinese:新化县/新化縣, pinyin:xīnhuà xiàn) is a county in Hunan,China, See Xinhua... is the 281st day of the year (282nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays full 2006 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 197th day of the year (198th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... The Economist is a weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd and edited in London, UK. It has been in continuous publication since September 1843. ... is the 235th day of the year (236th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

External links

• Data & Information page for the Ugandan Ministry of Energy and Minerals