HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I The Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) has got a new seven man board.
Dr Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu, the energy and mineral development minister, hailed the old board for fulfilling its mandate.
“You have done a commendable job and set the bar higher for the incoming board,” she said at the firm’s headquarters along Yusuf Lule Road recently.
The board is composed of Mathias Katamba as Chairman, with members including Eng. Herbert Mugizi, Justine Isenyi, Dr. Ivan Lule, Moses Kabanda, Dr. Simon Echegu and Zulaika Mirembe Kasajja.
Katongole, the chairman of the outgoing board, said that the acquisition of a petroleum exploration license for the Kasuruban Block in the Albertine Graben on 2nd February 2023 ensures sustainability through reserves replacement.
“All this advances the company’s objective of developing in-depth expertise in the oil and gas subsector and will build the company’s capacity to become an independent operator in the long term,” he said.
Mathias Katamba, the Chairman of the new board said they recognize the key role UNOC plays in driving the development of the nation’s oil and gas sector, and are committed to steering it toward success.
“By harnessing the diverse talents, experience and perspectives, we as the new board will be able to lead UNOC to sustainable growth that will ultimately drive social economic development and transformation of Uganda,” he said.
Proscovia Nabbanja, the UNOC CEO hailed the old board which had steered the body for 8 years for playing a good advisory role to management.
“The outgoing board constituted investment gurus, finance, legal engineering, geoscience, among others, it provided us with a great service,” she said.
She said the achievements of the outgoing board appeared across the entire petroleum value chain, making UNOC reputable players in upstream [non operator and operator], mid-stream and downstream value chain segments.
The old board was composed of 7 Independent Non-Executive Directors who included Emmanuel Katongole as Chairman, Eng. Irene Batebe, Francis Nagimesi, Mr. Francis Twinamatsiko and Stella Marie Biwaga. The contracts of Zulaika Mirembe Kasajja and Dr. Simon Echegu are still running.
UNOC’s mandate is to handle the Government of Uganda’s commercial interests in the petroleum sector and to ensure that the resource is exploited in a sustainable manner.
During the first tenure of the Board, two subsidiary companies were successfully incorporated. These include the Uganda Refinery Holding Company Limited (URHC), which is responsible for developing and managing the refinery project and Kabalega Industrial Park and the National Pipeline Company (U) Limited (NPC), which is responsible for the pipeline and downstream storage ventures.
