On September 10, the EPC3 package of the Kingfisher Oilfield in Uganda, contracted by Offshore Oil Engineering Co., Ltd. (COOEC), achieved mechanical completion. This marks the full completion of core surface facilities for Uganda’s first commercial oilfield development, officially advancing the project into the pre-commissioning and production readiness phase.

Located in the Lake Albert Basin in western Uganda, the Kingfisher EPC3 package encompasses key infrastructure including a Central Processing Facility (CPF) with an annual capacity of 2 million tonnes, four well pads, a water intake station, inter-field pipelines, and a camp designed for more than 1,000 personnel. The oilfield is jointly invested in and developed by CNOOC and TotalEnergies, with CNOOC Uganda Limited serving as the operator. Offshore Oil Engineering Co., Ltd. (COOEC) and China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corp. (CPECC) formed a consortium to undertake the EPC3 package for the project's surface facilities construction.

During construction, the project team erected a 75,000-square-meter camp, laid 83 kilometers of pipelines and over 700 kilometers of electrical cables, and installed more than 300 sets of equipment. Cross-border logistics accounted for over 43,000 tonnes of equipment and materials across a cumulative transit distance exceeding 3.62 million kilometers.

Adhering to high environmental standards, the camp deployed a hybrid power supply integrating solar photovoltaic, national grid, and emergency diesel generation, alongside a closed-loop wastewater recycling system that ensures zero discharge into the lake. The CPF features an enclosed ground flare and an associated gas recovery unit with an annual capacity of 20,000 tonnes of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), converting associated gas into clean energy.

The project also actively fulfilled its corporate social responsibilities through diverse community initiatives, including donations to schools for orphans with disabilities, educational supplies for local children, and the maintenance of community roads using recyclable engineering materials. In total, the project employed more than 1,500 Ugandan workers—achieving a localization rate of over 90%—and delivered 135,000 man-hours of technical training, cultivating the nation's first cohort of skilled industrial labor proficient in modern oil and gas engineering.

Once fully operational, the Kingfisher Oilfield is projected to reach a peak production rate of 40,000 barrels per day. The development is poised to significantly stimulate local employment, infrastructure expansion, and industrial growth, helping Uganda diversify away from its traditional reliance on agriculture and pastoralism while driving long-term industrial transformation.