KAMPALA, Uganda, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- The Ugandan government said it received 10 applications from energy companies looking to take advantage of the reserves in a single basin.
Commissioner for Petroleum Exploration and Production Ernest Rubondo said the Ugandan subsidiary of Tullow Oil submitted its application for eight production licenses in the so-called Albertine Graben basin. French energy company Total and China National Offshore Oil Corp. submitted applications for the other two licenses.
"The licensed oil companies in the country ... have submitted the applications together with the respective field development plans and petroleum reservoir reports," Rubondo said in a statement Monday.
Tullow published a country report on Uganda last year, tracking progress since it entered the country in 2004. The company said it has uncovered more than 1 billion barrels of oil in Uganda since operations began.
The company said in its 21-page report most of Uganda's oil reserves lie in the Lake Albert basin.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said Uganda holds an estimated 2.5 billion barrels of oil reserves. Full-scale oil production is expected to begin within five years, EIA said.
