Heritage and Tullow extend Ugandan roll

The big oil finds in Uganda keep coming for Heritage Oil and Tullow Oil.

Vast reservoirs of oil and gas have been found under the giant Lake Albert basin in the east African state, and the companies today said they may have made their biggest discovery yet.

Heritage, 50% owner of the acreage and operator of the drilling programme in Uganda, said the latest find in the Buffalo field is likely to exceed those already made in the Kingfisher field. It added: "The Buffalo discovery has the potential to be the largest field in Uganda."

The latest find extends the known resources in Uganda further north than had been hoped.

"Buffalo continues the 100% success rate in the Albert Basin over the last three years with all 17 wells finding hydrocarbons," said Tony Buckingham, the sometime African mercenary who is now Heritage chief executive.

Aidan Heavey, chief executive of Tullow which has been catapulted into the FTSE 100 index on the back of its co-ownership of the fields, said 2009 will be about realising the potential of the Ugandan finds.