Vast Oil Reserves Discovered in Uganda (What Will AFRICOM Do?)

My only real knowledge about Uganda is what I learned from the WWF (now the WWE) with its wrestler Kamala. Unfortunately, the WWF got is all wrong, because Kamala was actually from Mississippi instead of Africa. Nevertheless, Africa is currently becoming one of the U.S. military's biggest arenas with the new AFRICOM military command. I imagine that the U.S. has a definite interest in this new oil discovery along with Russia, China and many others.

I also did not realize that there were oil reserves in Uganda. Apparently, neither did the local fishermen and people. However, Uganda may soon be awash with petrodollars from the oil discovery and these dollars may transform the economy.

"We never knew we were sitting on oil here," said James Ocham, a 27-year-old fisherman outside the Classic Inn Lodge and Bar as he gazed towards an oilrig erected alongside a nearby lagoon. "In time we are all going to benefit – there will be jobs, even for the unemployed.

The discovery of vast oil reserves in Uganda has caused excitement across the country, and more than a touch of anxiety too. Energy companies have recently found more than 700m barrels of commercially viable oil in the pristine Albertine Graben region, representing the first major petroleum strike in east Africa. Tullow Oil, the FTSE 100 company leading the exploration, believes the exploitable deposits could exceed 1.5bn barrels, reserves comparable to Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of Chad.

Let's hope that Uganda does not become like Nigeria where the petrodollars are shipped out to offshore interests and corrupt leaders hoard the rest, destroy the environment and leave people poor.

Source: The Guardian