The Association of Uganda Oil and Gas Service Providers (AUGOS), an umbrella body for Uganda’s service providers in the oil and gas industry, hosted a Local Content Stakeholder Dialogue in partnership with Association of Tanzania Oil and Gas Service under the theme, “Unlocking local content opportunities in the oil and gas sector”
Local Content is the development of local skills, oil and gas technology transfer, and use of local manpower and local manufacturing. Prof. Charles Kwesiga, the chairman of the Association of Uganda Oil and Gas Service Providers (AUGOS), said the dialogue comes at a key stage as the country moves from oil exploration stage to development and production. This stage is estimated at approximately 20 billion dollars, peaking after 5 years.
Mr. Peter Lokeris, the minister of state for energy at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral development while opening the conference said achieving local content in Uganda’s oil sector will require concerted effort of all institutions like banks, schools, insurance, private oil companies, tourism, and environmentalists.
Q-sourcing MD Patrick Mbonye shows off products from the assessment and skilling center TASC.
Q-Sourcing Servtec, led by Managing Director Mr. Patrick Mbonye tipped government on how to fully benefit from the local content by skilling Ugandans so as to make sure they partake in the oil and gas activities. Mr. Patrick Mbonye emphasized that Oil and Gas service providers must be assessed &certified to work in oil sector, “One must find the credited authorized people to give this international certification to put one on an international playing field to compete for jobs and contracts.”
In attendance too was Dr. Ernest Chu Nwapa, the pioneer Executive Secretary/ CEO of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), in a key note presentation delivered at the Oil and Gas conference said, in order to benefit from the Oil and gas activities, there is need to use legislation in a friendly manner. Building infrastructure without people who will use it becomes useless and the country doesn’t progress. He said attention should be paid to towards skilling people. According to Dr. Ernest, “The measurement of local content is how many people you have employed and how many additional years and new skills you have added to the people. Therefore, how much are you doing to change the bulk of the people?”
Dr. Nwapa who prioritized local content for the Nigerian Oil and Gas industry, said Uganda has a lot to learn from the Nigerian experience. “Local content commitments need to be negotiated in the contracting process and agreements included in the contract,” he said.
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