The SPE Uganda section was established in 2011, mainly to satisfy the need for technical knowledge and information among the professionals in the nascent oil and gas industry. Currently the chapter comprises 1,156 members (1,011 student members and 145 professional members) and is growing steadily.
The commitment of the section to deliver reliable industry and technical information through professional local and international technical lectures and Distinguished Lectures is evidenced by its nomination to receive the 2020 SPE Presidential Award for Outstanding Section.
We deliver monthly technical lectures for our professional membership. These lectures cover Uganda oil industry issues of interest that include field development; commercial; subsurface and surface technology; and environment, health and safety (EHS) aspects.
Our highlight lecture in 2019 was titled “Tilenga Fields Reservoir Challenges and Solutions,” which was sponsored by Total E&P Uganda and delivered by Luc Cantegrel, geoscience manager, Total. The Tilenga is the largest of the two oil projects under development in Uganda and will deliver 190,000 b/d of oil through more than 400 directional wells. In addition to being partly located within a sensitive ecosystem in the country's largest national park, the reservoirs have complex compartmentalization with heavy and waxy crude oil. This presents many challenges in facilities design optimization. The lecture highlighted key project milestones and interventions that were being developed to mitigate the different subsurface and operational challenges.
The presentation and questions asked helped research students understand the reservoirs and link their classroom knowledge to solving real problems. The professional members understood the project complexities and the most feasible technical solutions proposed by the developer.
Comic Characters Adriko and Nampiija Address Energy Challenges
In addition to the technical lectures, the SPE Uganda Section also addresses sustainable energy use aspects. One of the projects in this category is the Energy-4-U project, adapted from SPE’s Energy4Me program.
We transformed this package into a comic strip series titled The Energy Adventures of Adriko and Nampiija to address energy challenges in a Ugandan context. This comic strip series highlights Adriko and Nampijja’s journey as they learn about cleaner and sustainable energy, often creating the solution themselves to help their families and communities. Through these two characters, we hope to address the challenges associated with Uganda’s heavy dependence on rudimentary energy sources especially in rural areas.
The stories are designed to get feedback from readers which will redirect future stories and help us to monitor our readership statistics, gauge the children’s level of understanding, ability to absorb the content of the comic strips, and their interest in following up what happens next. Pilot tests so far conducted in four schools have shown that the comic strip is an effective tool for knowledge dissemination among children. This comic strip has the potential to change the narrative around energy use in rural Uganda.
Top image courtesy: SPE Uganda Facebook page.
[The article was sourced from the author by TWA editor Yogashri Pradhan.]