The Kingfisher Development Area Surface Facilities
Located in the Southeast of Lake Albert, Kingfisher Development Area (KFDA) is one of Uganda’s key oil and gas projects. The name is derived from a fish-eating bird-Kingfisher- common there. It is in Buhuka “flat”, Kyangwaali in Kikuube district.
UNOC, as the Government nominee, holds 15% participating interest in the project. Our partners are CNOOC Uganda Limited (operator) and TotalEnergies EP Uganda holding 28.33% and 56.67% respectively.
KFDA covers the Kingfisher field located in Kikuube with plans for future tie-in of Mputa-Nzizi-Waraga fields in Kaiso-Tonya, Hoima District.
The project will produce 40,000 barrels of crude oil per day during peak production. KFDA key infrastructure comprises:
- Development of a Central Processing Facility (CPF) with a capacity of 40,000 barrels of oil per day.
- Thirty-one (31) wells (11 injectors and 20 producers) to be drilled on four (4) well pads.
- Nineteen (19) kilometres of flowlines to connect the fields to the CPF.
- A forty-six (46) kilometer 12-inch feeder pipeline from the CPF in Buhuka to the export hub and Refinery in Kabaale, Hoima District.
- A Lake Water Abstraction station.
- Supporting infrastructure such as temporary and permanent camps, a materials yard, a jetty, and several access roads, among others.
The Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) for the Project was completed in February 2018. The Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) was completed, and certificate issued by the National Environment Management Authority in February 2020.
The final investment decision (FID) for KFDA was announced in February 2022 alongside that for the sister project Tilenga and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).
On January 24th, 2023, President Yoweri Museveni launched spudding (drilling) following the successful erection of a rig; LR8001 specially designed for the deep offshore oil wells.