Members of Uganda's Presidential Investor Round Table (PIRT) have called on the country's leader Yoweri Museveni to push through new oil and gas legislation by the end of the year.

Following the lead of Nigeria, which incorporated a local content act to govern the industry into law earlier this year, the PIRT has called for similar legislation to be introduced in Uganda in order to increase local participation in the oil and gas sector through training programmes.

Speaking to East African Business Week, the Uganda Investment Authority's executive director Maggie Kigozi, who is a member of PIRT, commented: "The investors urged the government to prioritise development of the transport infrastructure in the oil areas [and] capacity building of the required skills in the oil and gas sector."

Steps could be taken in the near future to drive the development of talent in the country.

New Vision reports that the government's 2010 to 2015 budget framework paper lays out plans to move from an exploration-led policy agenda to one focussed on increasing local participation in the oil and gas industry.

"The proposed budget and planned output for the next financial year will see regulations and guidelines for the upstream, mid-stream and downstream activities developed and a new petroleum law enacted," the document states.

There is mounting pressure for the government to introduce new oil and gas legislation, following the introduction of the Local Content Act in Nigeria.

Supported by the country's new president Goodluck Jonathan, the legislation imposes strict training criteria for international oil and gas companies working in Nigeria.

Getenergy for Western Africa