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Uganda approves Tullow Oil deal

by CanuckJacq

The Ugandan government has formally approved the deal for Tullow Oil to take over Heritage Oil’s share of 2 blocks in the Lake Albert region.

This decision ends the bid by Italian company, Eni, to buy out Heritage’s share of the project.

Uganda is working very hard to be seen as a country friendly to investors, and its court has ruled that the contracts between the oil companies and the country will remain confidential, despite calls from journalists and activists to release them, and doubts over the accuracy of the information coming out of the government.

The leaked copy of Heritage Oil’s PSA with Uganda shows an agreement weighted heavily in the favour of the private company, and the heft of the risk being left on Uganda’s shoulders.

Two journalists were arrested yesterday in Kampala on charges of libel for comparing Uganda under President Museveni to the Philippines under Marco.

Recently, Uganda has been in the news for a lack of transparency from government, the proposal of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill that would introduce the death penalty for homosexuals, and now arresting journalists.

There are fears that the poorly negotiated contracts that Heritage Oil had and are now owned by Tullow Oil are going to contribute to the possibility of Uganda suffering the “resource curse” the same way that Nigeria has.

Nigeria is one of Africa’s largest oil producers, and yet Nigerians are currently lining up for fuel overnight due to shortages, and the majority of the country is still very poor, as the benefits of the oil production industry have only reached the already wealthy and powerful.

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