CNOOC Uganda Limited, a subsidiary of China National Offshore Oil Corporation and one of the licensed upstream operators in Uganda's Lake Albert development, has issued an Invitation for Expression of Interest (EOI) for the provision of well integrity services. The procurement reference number is RFP-CUL-LD-00813, and the tender has been published through Africa's Oil, Gas and Energy Review (AOGR) tender channels.
Well integrity services encompass a broad range of technical activities critical to safe and productive upstream operations, including wellbore inspection, pressure testing, casing and tubing evaluation, annular monitoring, and remediation work. For a landlocked, frontier basin such as Lake Albert — where CNOOC Uganda operates alongside TotalEnergies and the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) — maintaining well integrity is a foundational requirement ahead of the long-awaited final investment decision (FID) and production ramp-up on the Kingfisher field.
The EOI stage is a pre-qualification step designed to shortlist technically and commercially capable vendors before a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) is issued. Companies responding to this notice will need to demonstrate relevant track record in well integrity diagnostics and intervention, appropriate personnel qualifications, and the logistical capacity to operate in a remote, land-based East African environment. Although the sector classification lists this tender as "offshore," CNOOC Uganda's operations are onshore and lacustrine, meaning service delivery will require inland mobilisation capabilities rather than marine assets.
Uganda's upstream sector has faced prolonged delays tied to fiscal negotiations, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) financing impasse, and broader investor scrutiny around ESG standards. Despite these headwinds, CNOOC Uganda has continued appraisal and development drilling activities on its Kingfisher licence, making ongoing well management services a near-term commercial reality rather than a speculative future need. This EOI signals that CNOOC is actively building its contractor ecosystem in preparation for sustained operational activity.
For Norwegian and international service companies evaluating East Africa, this tender represents a concrete, near-term entry point into Uganda's upstream market. The well integrity space is technically specialised, relatively vendor-agnostic in terms of operator nationality, and a segment where Norwegian companies carry strong reputational weight from North Sea and international operations. Responding to the EOI — even as part of a consortium or through a local partner — would establish a footprint with one of Uganda's three licensed upstream operators at a strategically important moment.