Players in oil and gas have pleaded with the countries in the West not to starve Uganda and Africa of financing needed to get those resources out of the ground.
The call has been sounded by the Energy and Mineral Development Minister, Ruth Nankabirwa, and other players at the opening of the 10th East African Petroleum Conference and Exhibition.
Nankabirwa said the debate about the Energy transition is coming with a cost to countries like Uganda whose resources are yet to be produced.
While noting the significance of the need to shift away from fossil-powered production, Nankbirwa said Uganda and Africa should be allowed time to exploit those resources to industrialize.
She said it would be ironic that some of the countries that supported Uganda through the exploration stages to pull out before the resources are out .
Uganda’s oil and gas sector has been under criticism by climate activists with the emergence of the energy transition debate.
Campaigners have particularly campaigned against the planned construction of the 1,440-kilometer East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline(EACOP) from Uganda through Tanzania.
They have particularly been targeting global banks and insurance firms urging them not to finance the pipeline project that will evacuate Uganda’s oil to the international market through the Port of Tanga.
