3.11 The Petroleum (Exploration and Production) (Conduct of Exploration Operations) Regulations, 1993 These regulations were enacted as a statutory instrument in line with the Petroleum Act of 1985, s;7064, which gives powers to the minister responsible for oil exploration to make regulations for, among other things: exploration for petroleum and the carrying on of operations and execution of works for that purpose; the production of petroleum and the carrying on of operations and execution of works for that purpose; and the conservation and prevention of the waste of natural resources, whether petroleum or otherwise, and the carrying out of environmental impact studies for that purpose.
The regulations, among other things, provide specific guidelines regarding environmental management in the oil and gas sector with respect to prevention and control of pollution, health and safety during oil and gas activities
According to regulation 51(1)65, in carrying out exploration, development and production operations and the transport of oil and gas, the licence holder and his operator should operate in a manner that ensures the prevention of pollution of the environment.66 Also under regulation 51(2), in the disposal of any waste material, a licence holder should not create any conditions that may adversely affect public health, life, property, aquatic life, wildlife or vegetation
3.12 The Petroleum (Refining, Conversion, Transmission and Midstream Storage) Act 2011 The Law, the first of its kind in East Africa gives way for the construction of the first Greenfield refinery in Uganda. The law operationalizes the National Oil and gas policy, 200867 with regard to valuable utilization of Uganda’s oil and gas resources68.under section 10(6)(q) an application made jointly or under the regulations69 should contain results of assessments, including environmental impact assessments, studies or audits carried out and reports of those assessments, studies or audits.
