Proscovia Nabbanja, Chief Executive Officer

Proscovia Nabbanja

Chief Executive Officer

Profile

Proscovia Nabbanja is currently serving as the CEO of the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC). With over 23 years of experience, she has played pivotal roles in shaping Uganda's petroleum sector and positioning the country as a critical player in the global energy landscape. Her expertise as a former Head of the Technical Division in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development allowed her to influence significant projects and lead critical reviews of field development plans.

One of her most remarkable achievements was steering UNOC through crucial negotiations of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), securing agreements that solidified Uganda's position in the regional energy sector. Under her guidance, the Upstream and EACOP Projects reached the Final Investment Decision, marking significant milestones in Uganda's petroleum industry, driven by her strategic decisions and ability to secure essential investments and partnerships.

Proscovia's commitment to exploration and unlocking Uganda's natural resources is evident in her acquisition of an exploration license over the Kasuruban Contract Area during the Second licensing round. Her unwavering determination to capitalise on Uganda's oil and gas potential contributes to the country's energy security and economic development.

Proscovia continues demonstrating her dedication to Uganda's petroleum industry's growth and sustainable development as the visionary leader at the helm of the Uganda National Oil Company. Her strategic decisions and impactful initiatives have positioned her as an influential figure in the country and the broader global energy landscape.

Catherine Tumusiime, Chief Human Resource Officer

Catherine Tumusiime

Chief Human Resource Officer

Profile

Catherine Tumusiime-Chief Human Resource Officer-Uganda National Oil Company (2017 to-date).

Catherine has 22 years’ experience as a Human Resource and Administration practioner. She previously served as Manager, Human Resource and Administration at Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) and Human Resource Director at Action Aid International Uganda.

Catherine holds an MA. in Public Administration and Management, BA. in Social Work and Social Administration, both of Makerere University, and Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management of Uganda Management Institute (UMI). In addition, she is a Certified Human Resource Manager of AMC, Nairobi Kenya. She is also qualified in training of new human resource managers.

Catherine is a Member of the Human Resource Manager’s Association of Uganda (HRMAU).

Tony Otoa, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer

Tony Otoa

Chief Corporate Affairs Officer

Profile

Tony’s expertise spans across the oil and gas sub-sector, entrepreneurship, communication strategy and innovation in both Uganda and the United Kingdom. Previously, he was a National Content Manager at TotalEnergies Exploration and Production, where he also served as the Public Affairs Manager. His role was to support the inclusion of local SMEs in the oil and gas opportunities in Uganda and Tanzania.

Tony worked with civil society in the UK and Uganda to plan, develop and design laws and regulations for the oil and gas sector in the East African region. His relentless dedication and determination to propel Uganda into a formidable regional contender in the oil and gas industry have led him to deliver speeches worldwide on this burgeoning sector. He has spoken passionately about participation of Ugandans in the sector, environment protection and robust revenue management.

Tony has also supported and nurtured Small and Medium-sized Enterprises to facilitate growth and opportunities.

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations and an LLM in International Law.

Philips Obita, General Manager - Upstream

Philips Obita

General Manager - Upstream

Profile

Philips is a Petroleum Geoscientist, with over 20 years of experience in the upstream oil & gas industry. His areas of expertise include assessment of petroleum potential of acreages, petroleum resource estimation, field appraisal, development planning and negotiation of upstream petroleum agreements. Prior to being appointed as General Manager – Upstream, Philips served as the Head of Development & Production for UNOC since August 2017 and was responsible for the management of UNOC’s upstream development and production operations to maximise value for the Company.

He previously worked in the Petroleum Exploration & Production Department under the Ministry of Energy & Mineral Development where he started his career as a Geophysicist in 2000, and later served as a Senior Geophysicist. He was Head of Compliance Division leading reviews of oil companies’ work programs and budgets for petroleum operations and ensuring that operations are executed in a prudent and cost-effective manner. He also represented the Ministry in a number of Inter-Ministerial Committees including for the evaluating of petroleum exploration and production license proposals and negotiating upstream petroleum agreements.

Philips holds a Bachelor of Science in Physics and Mathematics from Makerere University, Master of Science in Petroleum Geoscience from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Norway), Post Graduate Diploma in Management of Petroleum Development and operations (Norway) and several other trainings in the oil and gas sector.

John Bosco Habumugisha, General Manager - National Pipeline Company Ltd

John Bosco Habumugisha

General Manager - National Pipeline Company Ltd

Profile

John has 23 years of experience in petroleum infrastructure development including pipelines and storage facilities, policy formulation and implementation, international humanitarian operations with the United Nations and private sector downstream petroleum operations.

He is a multi-skilled engineering and management professional who holds a Masters’ degree with Distinction in Pipeline Engineering from Newcastle University, United Kingdom, a Masters’ degree in Industrial Engineering from University of New South Wales, Australia, and a 1st Class Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Makerere University, in addition to various certificates. John is a member of the Professional Institute of Pipeline Engineers (PIPE), the Uganda Institution of Professional Engineers (UIPE), and the Institution of Procurement Professionals of Uganda (IPPU).

John is married with four children.

Peter Muliisa, Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary

Peter Muliisa

Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary

Profile

Peter started his career as a magistrate and thereafter spent 11 years in the litigation office of Uganda Revenue Authority. He is an enrolled advocate in Uganda, a member of the Uganda Law Society and East African Law Society.

Peter has appeared in all courts in Uganda and handled most of the key tax decisions in the last eleven years.

He is interested in arbitration and has been involved in three arbitration matters as counsel and speaks at arbitration conferences. Peter holds an LLB from Makerere University, a Diploma in Legal practice from the Law Development Centre and an LLM in petroleum taxation and Finance from the University of Dundee.

Peter’s areas of interest are corporate governance, project finance, negotiations, taxation, litigation and arbitration.

Samantha Muhwezi Kassami, Chief Operating Officer

Samantha Muhwezi Kassami

Chief Operating Officer

Profile

Samantha is an oil and gas professional with hands-on experience in the sector. She holds a Bachelor of Laws from the London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE), a Postgraduate Diploma, and a Master of Laws from BPP University London UK. She is a solicitor qualified to practice in England and Wales and a member of the Law Society, London UK. She trained, qualified, and practiced at Linklaters LLP, a Magic Circle law firm.

She joined TotalEnergies S.E. in 2016 as part of their three-person pipeline project team and led the negotiations for the pipeline and worked on all aspects to lead the EACOP Project to a Final Investment Decision in 2022. Ms. Muhwezi has broad technical and managerial experience across all aspects of oil and gas and an intrinsic understanding of its framework and processes.

She was part of the senior leadership TotalEnergies seconded to EACOP, to establish it as a reputable company, together with the parallel objective of delivering the project. Ms. Muhwezi was EACOP’s Legal Director and Company Secretary, responsible for the implementation of the agreed legal framework for the EACOP in Uganda and Tanzania (Host Government Agreements, Shareholders Agreement, Tariff & Transportation Agreement) and ensuring compliance with all applicable laws to EACOP and its activities. As Legal Director, she was responsible for the management of the legal function to ensure the provision of, high quality, commercial and operational legal services to the EACOP Company and Project. As Company Secretary, she was responsible for the governance and administration of the EACOP Company.

Ms Muhwezi established the EACOP Women’s Initiative, a community-led initiative in EACOP to provide a space and platform for women to network, receive and give mentorship, among other achievements.

As one of the lead negotiators for the framework agreements underpinning Uganda’s nascent oil and gas industry, Ms. Muhwezi brings hands-on experience, pragmatism, and a balanced approach to securing Uganda’s short-term and long-term interests in the sector.

Emmanuel Mugagga, Chief Financial & Administrative Officer

Emmanuel Mugagga

Chief Financial & Administrative Officer

Profile

Emmanuel has over 19 years of experience in the oil and gas industry ranging from Upstream, Midstream and Downstream. He worked with Shell Uganda Limited, Shell Oil Products Africa, and Tullow Uganda Operations Pty Ltd.

Emmanuel’s areas of expertise are Strategic Planning, Business Strategy, Controls Framework, Planning and Budgeting, Business Processes, Treasury Management, Joint Venture Accounting, Business Analysis, Tax, Pension Fund Administration, Business Management, Use & Implementation of ERP systems, Contracts Management and Project Management. He has an MBA from Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, United Kingdom. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Accountants, United Kingdom and a Member of Certified Public Accountants, Uganda.

Michael Nkambo Mugerwa, General Manager - Uganda Refinery Holdings Company Ltd

Michael Nkambo Mugerwa

General Manager - Uganda Refinery Holdings Company Ltd

Profile

Michael is a chemical engineer, with over 32 years of professional technical and management experience in the global oil, gas and renewable energy industry.

His areas of expertise include process engineering, project management, project controls, risk management, contracts, safety, oil refinery technologies, fuel cell systems, and geothermal power plants.

Michael holds BSc, MSc and PhD degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Manchester, UK. His postgraduate research focused on the characterization and modeling of pore structures in oil-bearing sandstones and petrochemical catalysts. In the recent past, he was based in Europe and North America and worked for the global engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors Technip and Jacobs Engineering serving the oil, gas and petrochemical industries.

He is a Chartered Engineer (UK) and a Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers.

Gilbert Kamuntu, Chief Commercial Officer

Gilbert Kamuntu

Chief Commercial Officer

Profile

Gilbert has 15 years’ experience almost all within the oil and gas industry. His experience includes economic modelling, business analysis and commercial negotiations across the petroleum value chain from upstream production, refining, crude oil pipelines and oil terminals.

Gilbert began his oil and gas career with Shell as a refinery economist at Stanlow Refinery in North West England, afterwhich he spent several years in Shell’s Strategy, Mergers and Acquisitions working on transactions in Europe, Asia, North America and Africa. Gilbert also worked for Tullow Oil plc on the Uganda and Kenya Upstream Developments based in London, Nairobi and Kampala.

Gilbert has a Bachelor’s degree (Honours) in Mechanical Engineering from Nottingham University, MSc (Distinction) in Energy Studies specializing in Energy Finance from Dundee University and MBA (Merit) from University of British Columbia. His MSc thesis focused on the weaknesses of crude oil benchmarks in financial derivatives. He has also completed several courses in project and infrastructure finance, corporate strategy and leadership at Manchester Business School and London Business School.