By end of June, Uganda will have issued  production Licences to industrial players Tullow Oil and Total E&P Uganda, State Minister for Minerals Peter Lokeris said. Speaking to the media during a dialogue organised by Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE), Lokeris said the country took long to issue production licenses because there was need to build internal mechanism and capacity that would grantee stability and success of both upstream, midstream and downstream stages of the budding sector. “We took our time because we wanted to make sure everything is alright. We didn’t want to regret later. And now we are convinced that we have a good deal and government will not lose out in terms of royalties and revenues (taxes) for we are covered at every stage,” the minister explained. Uganda has quietly built a professional Oil sector thanks the global oil price surge and the power of hind sight and fore sight. “Everything is set. Before the end of the month, we shall issue licences for six blocks. At the moment, I cannot divulge more details but just know that Tullow and Total will be those we shall sign agreement with,” Lokeris said. Lokeris said a total of 120 exploration and appraisal wells have been drilled and out of these, prospectors have encountered petroleum in 106 wells in the subsurface. This represents a drilling success rate of 88 per cent, which is the highest worldwide. “It is important to note that the investment in seismic surveys, exploration and appraisal drilling increased from $50 million (Shs165.6 trillion) in 2006, to $3.2 billion by the end of 2015, and is projected to go over $3.4 billion mark in 2016. According to data from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, this next phase is expected to happen within the next 4-5 years and attracting additional investment of approximately $20 billion. Credit: The Exchange