Nabilah Safira
TechInAfrica – Oranto Petroleum’s empowerment initiative has been extended to local businesses in Uganda, which is a partnership between the largest private oil and gas firm and the Petroleum Authority of Uganda. 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.
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, Uganda’s oil industry is considered a young one, having been discovered in 2006. Both individuals and businesses are becoming aware of the prospects this industry offers, as reflected in the booming sector of its oil and gas industry.
More than 250 business owners and entrepreneurs filled the list of attendees, in the workshop organized in Albertine Graben, where Oranto Petroleum owns its Ngassa licenses. The workshop provided the attendees with information on training and capacity building Uganda’s oil and gas sector, as well as insights into opportunities the sector offers in its income generation across agriculture, business incubation, transportation, storage, waste management, trade, and services, such as banking and insurance. Critical skills in local content, enterprise development, and innovation were also tackled. Director of Strategy of the African Energy Chamber, Mickael Vogel, who spoke at the event, said that the organization 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.
“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.
Source: Venturesafrica.com
