The Petroleum Authority of Uganda and CNOOC are urging businesses in Hoima and Bunyoro to strengthen their systems, meet industry standards and pursue partnerships to compete for contracts as oil production approaches.
The Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU) and CNOOC Uganda are urging local suppliers in Hoima and the wider Bunyoro sub-region to prepare for emerging business opportunities as Uganda’s oil and gas sector transitions from development to production.
The two organisations said local companies needed to strengthen their capacity, comply with industry regulations and maintain proper business systems to compete for supply contracts and ensure more oil sector spending benefits the domestic economy.
During an engagement with local suppliers in Hoima, PAU Local Content Officer Christine Nakyonyi urged businesses to maintain proper records and streamline their operations to meet the sector’s requirements.
Nakyonyi emphasised the importance of registering on the National Supplier Database, saying registration enables companies to be identified for potential opportunities in the oil and gas industry.
She encouraged local businesses to improve their readiness to bid for contracts and comply with applicable local and international industry standards.
The authority also urged local companies to consider joint ventures with larger domestic and international firms to strengthen their technical and financial capacity.
Such partnerships, PAU said, could help local businesses gain experience, improve their competitiveness and eventually undertake more complex contracts independently.
Percy Mucunguzi, the National Content Officer at the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC), said the engagements were intended to help local suppliers understand the sector’s requirements, identify upcoming opportunities and learn how to position themselves to benefit.
CNOOC Uganda National Content Manager Daniel Eric Jumba, who organised the engagement in Hoima, said the transition to production would create different requirements from those encountered during the development phase.
He said suppliers needed to understand the skills, standards and capacity required to serve the sector so they could compete when opportunities arose.
“Our target is to support local companies. When local companies grow, the multiplier effect is bigger, and this leads to growth of the economy,” Jumba said.
He added that stronger local businesses could generate more employment and build capacity that would benefit the economy beyond the immediate oil production phase.
Jumba said continued engagements with suppliers had revealed improvements in compliance with regulations, service quality and production capacity, enabling some businesses to respond better to the sector’s growing demands.
The engagements are part of broader efforts to strengthen local content participation in Uganda’s petroleum industry by preparing domestic businesses to compete for contracts and supply goods and services to oil companies and their contractors.
Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom Chief Administrative Secretary Alex Katusabe welcomed the initiative, saying it would help residents and businesses understand available opportunities early enough to prepare and submit competitive bids.
He said successful local companies could generate income and employment, with benefits extending to households and communities across the region.
Katusabe pledged continued cooperation between the kingdom and oil companies, urging them to maintain employment opportunities for the Banyoro, who live in communities directly affected by oil and gas activities.