Uganda should not to be excited by the potential prospects the oil industry seems to present, a Singaporean Minister urged .

Dr Koh Poh Koon, who heads the ministry of Trade and Industry of the Southeast Asian Nation said that Uganda must concentrate on improving agriculture as the major economic base much as the oil has the potential to turn around the country’s economy.

Dr Koon, was speaking in Kampala while on a state visit to Uganda.

 He said in a statement that “the benefits of oil mining and refinery are numerous, but be cautious about its challenges or risk factors.”

From 2006 onward, a series of oil discoveries put Uganda on the global energy map. Finding oil marked the end of over a century of intermittent exploration.

The petroleum industry in Singapore dates back to 1891. In 2007, the country exported approximately 68.1 million tons of petroleum. The same year, the Singaporean government published a report titled Energy for Growth, describing how the industry would be sustained.

According to The World Fact Book, Singapore produces about 20,170 barrels of crude oil per day, ranking it 78th in the list of the world’s oil producing countries.