LONDON, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- British energy explorer Tullow Oil said it was ready to take "decisive action" to exploit the resource potential in Uganda.
"Uganda's time has come [and the country] is fast becoming a prominent potential player in the world's energy market," Jimmy Mugerwa, general manager of Tullow Oil Uganda, said in a statement Monday. "Decisive action is now required in order to maintain that advantage."
Tullow published a country report on Uganda, tracking progress since Tullow entered the country in 2004. Tullow said it invested $2.8 million on oil exploration in Uganda where discoveries have uncovered more than 1 billion barrels of oil.
In June, the High Court in London ruled in favor of Tullow in a tax case with rival Heritage Oil related to operations in Uganda.
Heritage in 2009 agreed to sell its Ugandan holdings to Italian energy company Eni. Tullow had the right to pre-empt the deal because of existing interest and in early 2010 the Ugandan government said it backed Tullow's plans despite a lobbying campaign by Eni to stop the transaction.
Tullow said the Ugandan government ruled Heritage should pay $313 million to Tullow's subsidiary as part of the transaction and the high court agreed.
The company said in its 21-page report most of Uganda's oil reserves lie in the Lake Albert basin.
