The entry into production of oil fields in the Lake Albert region should boost economic growth and help reduce the country's public debt.

The Ugandan economy is expected to grow by more than 7% annually from 2025, thanks to the start of production from oil fields in the west of the country, the Ministry of Finance announced in a statement on Thursday, March 23.

"In the medium term, economic growth will be driven primarily by hydrocarbon sector activities [...] We expect real GDP growth to increase to more than 7% annually following the start of commercial oil production in 2025," he stated. in the statement the Secretary of the Treasury, Ramathan Ggoobi.

Ggoobi also stated that Uganda's public debt is expected to trend downward as economic growth accelerates. "We expect the ratio between public debt and GDP to begin to decline as early as 2025, thanks to strong economic growth derived from oil production," he declared.

Uganda launched a program to drill production wells in the Kingfisher oil field in the western region of Lake Albert in January this year.

The field is exploited by the Chinese company CNOOC and is expected to come into operation in 2025.

Lake Albert is the natural border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and contains some 6.5 billion barrels of crude oil, of which about 1.4 billion are currently considered recoverable.

Uganda's oil reserves could last between 25 and 30 years, with peak production estimated at 230,000 barrels per day.

Source: EcomNewsAfrique