It is hoped that by 2025 the first of a potential 1.4 billion barrels of oil will be pumped from wells across the mid-western region.

"Today we mark another milestone and move a step closer to first oil with the launch of the drilling of development and production wells for the Kingfisher oil fields," the Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU) said on Twitter.

President Yoweri Museveni is due to officiate the event.

The Kingfisher oil field is operated by China's CNOOC, while the second Tilenga oil field is operated by France's TotalEnergies.