One of Nigeria’s largest private oil and gas firms, Oranto Petroleum has extended its empowerment initiative to local businesses in Uganda. This initiative is in partnership with the Petroleum Authority of Uganda.
The workshop was organized in Albertine Graben, where Oranto Petroleum has its Ngassa licenses. Over 250 people were in attendance, a majority of whom were business owners and entrepreneurs.
Participants were provided with information on training and capacity building in Uganda’s oil and gas sector. They were also given insights into opportunities the sector provides in income generation across agriculture, business incubation, transportation, storage, waste management, trade and services such as banking and insurance. The training also encompasses critical skills in local content, enterprise development and innovation.
“Oranto understands that oil resources have the potential to provide immense benefits to African nations through employment of the local workforce, and can boost local communities and generate rural transformation,” Chairman of Oranto Petroleum, Prince Arthur Eze, said.
The importance of this workshop cannot be overemphasized especially because Uganda’s oil industry is relatively new, only discovered in 2006. The country’s oil and gas sector is booming, as individuals and businesses become aware of the prospects of this industry.
Uganda is also described by the World Bank as the hottest inland exploration frontier in the world and the country to watch in the oil and gas space, due to the commercial discovery of an estimated 6.5 billion barrels of oil.
Speaking on this was Mickael Vogel, Director of Strategy of the African Energy Chamber, who said the Chamber welcomes programs like this and salutes Oranto for living up to its commitment to the Ugandan people and local content.
“The Chamber wants to support companies that contribute in enabling Uganda’s workforce and supplier development, and collaborating with the government to support the growth and success of Uganda’s new energy industry,” Vogel added.
This initiative is in line with Oranto Petroleum’s commitment to domestic capacity building and local content development across sub-Saharan Africa. In the past, the company has engaged in a series of social empowerment schemes and funding which include contributions to rebuilding the educational system in crisis-hit South Sudan.
