The China University of Petroleum and Uganda's Makerere University have signed an agreement to establish a geoscience and petroleum institute to build capacity in the country's nascent oil-and-gas sector.

The agreement was signed on Jan 8, says Ritah Namisango, Makerere University's spokesperson.

The agreement paves the way for further discussion on the setting up of the institute at Makerere University, according to Namisango.

"The institute of petroleum and gas, once established at Makerere University, will be the first of its kind in Uganda. And the main issue is to ensure we build the required human-resource capacity in the areas of petroleum, oil and gas," she says.

She says experts from the China University of Petroleum will work closely with their counterparts at the Makerere University's College of Natural Sciences and College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology to develop appropriate joint academic programs and conduct research.

"When the team from China comes on board they will work with experts at Makerere University to ensure they conduct joint research and academic programs, and develop capacity in the petroleum, oil and gas sectors," says Namisango.

Last year, Sunmaker, a Chinese company, opened up an oil-training institute in Uganda's capital, Kampala, to equip locals with knowledge and skills in the oil-and-gas sector.

Uganda plans to start commercial production of oil by 2021, when a crude-oil pipeline and a refinery will be in place.

Government figures show that the country has so far discovered 6.5 billion barrels of oil, about 1.5 billion barrels of which are commercially viable.