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Significant economic and social transformation experienced by residents in the Hoima, Kikuube, Buliisa, and Nwoya districts of Uganda, as well as the surrounding areas, through their participation in various livelihood enhancement schemes facilitated by the oil and gas sector operators. The projects have brought about infrastructure development, improved agriculture practices, housing, skill development, and employment opportunities.

Through their participation in various livelihood enhancement schemes, residents of the Hoima, Kikuube, Buliisa, and Nwoya districts as well as the surrounding territories have undergone and continue to endure a significant economic and social shift.

Locals in the host villages in the Bunyoro region can thank various oil and gas sector operators for this enormous transformation, which includes infrastructure development, agriculture, housing, skill development, and direct and indirect employment.

Even though the industry is still developing, it is already clear how the different projects at Kingfisher and Tilenga have had a good influence.

As a result of the Tilenga project’s operation in the area, one of the beneficiaries, John Oketch, an elderly man living in a small village in Buliisa, appreciated getting a brand-new permanent home as well as some cash to make up for the semi-permanent home he lost when one of the access roads in the area was being built.

“My semi-permanent grass-thatched house was next to the road, so when they were building the road, they gave me a plot of land where they built me a larger permanent house”, Oketch said, adding that in addition to the lovely house, he had also received money that he used to pay his kids’ school fees.

Many residents have benefited from the oil and gas projects, just as Oketch. By teaching people how to use contemporary farming techniques and developing their skills so they may work as skilled and semi-skilled labourers on different projects, many industry players have assisted communities.

Locals have been provided with treated and clean tap water as part of the Kingfisher project, which has decreased the number of cholera cases previously reported in the region.

Before the Gravity Water Flow Project in Buhuka Village, Hoima District, was started last year (2022), villagers relied on treated water taken from Lake Albert and a few taps that also had untreated water, according to James Katusiime, an attendant of the project.

“Hospitals began to report a rise in cholera cases as a result of the use of untreated and contaminated water.” Over 13000 recipients received a Gravity Water Flow Project from CNOOC Uganda once it was explained what the issue was, according to Katusiime.

Project Affected Persons (PAPs) in the Tilenga project participate in a variety of livelihood-improving initiatives in the fields of agriculture, cassava development, fruit tree growing, beekeeping, livestock, and job possibilities.

About 5,523 people were displaced throughout the land acquisition process, according to Christopher Ocowun, the TOTAL E&P Public Relations and Public Affairs Co-ordinator in Tilenga, and many of them have been and are still being compensated with resettlement homes, land, and money.

He said that individuals interested in farming were also exposed to better practises and technologies to add value to their produce. “Those compensated with cash were taken through financial literacy classes,” he said.

Gloria Sebikari, the Head of Cooperate Affairs for the Petroleum Authority of Uganda, stated that numerous developments in the oil and gas sector will benefit not just the local population but also the entire nation.

Sebikari noted that Kabalega International Airport, which comes in second place after Entebbe International Airport in terms of size, is “not just an airport and a refinery; it is a whole industrial complex.”

Uganda’s oil and gas sector has transitioned from the exploration phase to the development phase in preparation for the first oil production come 2025. The extraction, processing, and distribution of oil require a great deal of infrastructure, which demands the considerable acquisition of land leading to the displacement of people in host communities.

On the positive side, these projects have created several opportunities for some of those people including the development of infrastructure in the region and most of the displaced persons have been and still are being compensated.

The most outstanding infrastructure is the roads, locally referred to as the ‘oil roads’, which have greatly improved access to and within the region.