The contingency plan aims to establish a national oil preparedness and response mechanism, from which the oil spill will be managed.
To minimize the impacts of an oil spill, there’s need for quick access to response resources. These resources shall be provided by licensees and operators.
These are allowed to get assistance from the regional or international oil spill response service providers. In exceptional cases, the contingency plan recommends that the resources of licensees and operators be assisted with government resources.
The resource response to the oil spill is fragmented into three tiers. The resources required are determined by factors such as location, season and oil volume spilled. This shall help to determine the resources required for each response.
Tier one, the lowest response level, requires local resources to be readily available or near the incident site so that they can be deployed immediately.
Tier two handles small and medium-sized oil spills, which may have significant impacts on human health, environment, and economic activities. The licensee and operator are expected to have the capability to mobilize and apply response resources immediately. Tier three covers major oil spills requiring substantial response resources.
Licensees and operators involved in petroleum activities, midstream operations and petroleum supply are required to have suitable membership with tier three oil equipment service providers, who are able to mobilize equipment into the country within the shortest time possible after the occurrence of an oil spill.
Licensees, operators and government institutions shall be required to conduct oil spill response exercises to test and verify their respective contingency plans and procedures. These exercises will include notification, table topic, equipment mobilization and drills, verification, and full scale.
According to Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan could help the country sustainably exploit the oil and gas resources.
She said: “Although the target of the country is to have oil out of the ground by 2025, the environment and all other occupants have to be protected. We are all aware of the nature and environment where oil and gas activities are taking place, including areas of high biodiversity of the plant and animal species, cultural and natural heritage, protected and religious areas, and other historical sites. Exploration of the oil and gas should not come at the cost of the environment.”
Uganda’s oil-rich Albertine graben is one of the most ecologically diverse regions, boasting the world’s animal and plant species, including 52 per cent of all African birds and 32 per cent of African animals. It also has Rivers Nile, Semuliki and Wambabya, Lake Albert, Budongo Forest and Murchison Falls National Park etc. In the event of an oil spill, these biodiverse areas would largely be affected.
There was a 2020 oil spill report that sent shock waves within the communities in Hoima and across the country. The alleged oil spill was after the explosion of a geothermal hole in Kigorobya subcounty near Lake Albert.
The National Oil Spill Contingency Plan was compiled with support from the Royal Norwegian Government and the Norwegian Coastal Administration. The plan covers different areas like the National Oil Spill preparedness and response system, guides on oil spill contingency planning and waste management, among others.
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