The 5th East African Petroleum Conference & Exhibition 2011(EAPCE’11) will take place in Kampala, Uganda early next year, The New Times can report.

According to the East African Community (EAC) secretariat, the conference will take place from in February from 2nd to 4th next year.

The conference running under the theme; "Harnessing East Africa’s Oil and Gas potential and utilizing the resources to create lasting value,” follows the 4th session that convened last year in Mombasa, Kenya.

In a statement from the EAC website, the regional bloc’s Secretary General, Juma Mwapachu said the last four conferences have provided a unique forum where governments and oil companies from across the world meet and engage in active dialogue and exchange ideas on the petroleum industry in East Africa.

"The East African Petroleum Conferences have provided increasing awareness of the potential for petroleum development in the region and other important developments in the petroleum sector including technological advancements in exploration, development and production,” Mwapachu said.

East Africa has in the recent past not only displayed potential in the area of harnessing geothermal energy, but has also discovered oil and gas reserves in some of the partner states.

Mwapachu added that the conference is taking place at an exciting time for the East African Community as the region transits into a Common Market.

The Mombasa conference attracted over 600 delegates and officials responsible for petroleum and investment promotions and other players in the industry from the region and the countries neighbouring EAC, namely Ethiopia, Sudan, DRC, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique and Somalia.

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