By Godfrey Olukya and Halima Athumani

ARU, Democratic Republic of Congo

Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have agreed to explore for oil on their border, the DRC government said Thursday.

The deal was signed in Uganda at the weekend by Ugandan Energy Minister Irene Muloni and the DRC’s Hydrocarbons Minister Aime Ngoy Mukena, Mukena’s ministry said in a statement.

In 2006, Uganda discovered oil and gas deposits in around Lake Albert on its border with the DRC. It estimated around 6.5 billion barrels of oil lay below the border region.

Production is due to start in 2020 and export pipeline is being developed to ship the oil to terminals on Tanzania’s Indian Ocean coast.

“All planned drilling locations onshore and offshore are on the Ugandan border,” Muloni said, adding that revenues from cross-border fields would be shared between the countries.