中国石化新闻网讯 据路透社报道，乌干达石油机构1月24日表示，乌干达将启用其4部已计划的石油钻机中的首部石油钻机，并开始钻探第一口石油生产井，这是乌干达到2025年实现其首次商业石油产出目标的一个关键里程碑。
这个东非国家在近20年前发现了商业石油储量，但由于缺乏管道等基础设施，商业石油生产一再被推迟。
乌干达政府石油管理局(PAU)在推特上表示：“1月24日，我们标志着另一个里程碑，随着翠鸟油田开发和生产井的钻探工作的启动，我们离第一桶商业石油产出又近了一步。”
位于乌干达西部艾伯塔湖南侧附近的翠鸟石油开发项目由亚洲知名海上油气生产运营商担任作业者。乌干达的第二个项目Tilenga石油开发项目位于艾伯塔湖北部，横跨尼罗河，由法国能源巨头道达尔能源公司担任作业者。
这两家公司与国营的乌干达国家石油公司(UNOC)共同拥有乌干达现有的所有油田。
乌干达计划在采油高峰期每天生产大约23万桶原油。
据乌干达能源和矿产发展部称，第一部石油钻机将于周二投入使用，将用于在翠鸟项目区钻取31口井，而随后将在Tilenga项目区部署的3部钻机将总共钻取426口生产井。
乌干达的原油储量估计在65亿桶，其中14亿桶原油储量为可采储量。
乌干达将通过一条1443公里长的电加热管道将原油从油田出口到邻国坦桑尼亚位于印度洋沿岸的港口坦加。
李峻 编译自 路透社
原文如下：
Uganda to Unveil First Commercial Oil Production Drilling Program
Uganda will commission>The East African nation discovered commercial reserves of petroleum nearly two decades ago but production has been repeatedly delayed by a lack of infrastructure like a pipeline.
"Today we mark another milestone and move a step closer to first oil with the launch of the drilling of development and production wells for the Kingfisher oil fields," government-run Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU) said>Kingfisher, located near the southern flank of Lake Albert in the country's west, is operated by the largest offshore oil and gas producer in the largest country of Asia. Uganda's second project area, Tilenga, located north of Lake Albert astride River Nile, is operated by France's TotalEnergies.
The two firms co-own all of Uganda's existing oilfields alongside the state-run Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC).
At peak, Uganda plans to produce about 230,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
The rig due to be launched>Uganda's crude reserves are estimated at 6.5 billion barrels, of which 1.4 billion barrels are recoverable.
The country will export its crude through an electrically heated, 1443-kilomtere pipeline from the oilfields to neighboring Tanzania's Indian Ocean seaport of Tanga.