China-built Uganda oilfield core facilities pass completion acceptance

The core surface facilities of Uganda's Kingfisher Oilfield, a key China-Africa energy cooperation project, passed mechanical completion acceptance on Wednesday, marking the completion of Uganda's first commercial oilfield, according to contractor China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).

The oilfield is located in the Albert Basin in western Uganda and holds estimated geological reserves of about 560 million barrels of crude.

The project sits on the shores of Lake Albert in the East African Rift Valley, where soft soil made construction extremely difficult.

The project team overcame geological challenges to lay 783 kilometers of pipelines and cables and install more than 300 sets of equipment.

The project has employed more than 1,500 Ugandan workers so far, with a localization rate of 90 percent, and provided 135,000 person-hours of skills training.

Once fully operational, the Kingfisher Oilfield is expected to reach a peak daily output of 40,000 barrels, boosting local employment and related industries.

The dominant position of new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China's auto market was further consolidated in August, with NEV sales accounting for a record 60.6 percent of the monthly new car sales, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers on Thursday.

Last month, China's NEV output and sales reached over 1.65 million units and 1.64 million units, up 18.9 percent and 17.8 percent year on year, respectively, the data showed.

In August, China's auto exports reached 1.01 million units, up 65.3 percent year on year, marking the third consecutive month that export volume has exceeded one million units.

The country's NEV exports rose 1.3 times year on year to 526,000 units last month, accounting for more than a half of the total automobile exports for three consecutive months.