France, Jan. 24 -- Uganda is commissioning the first of its four planned oil drilling rigs andstarts drilling the first production well this Tuesday - a key milestone for the country, as Kampala races to meet its target offirst crude oil output in 2025.

The discovery of commercial reserves ofpetroleum underUganda's Lake Albertwas confirmed nearly two decades ago, but production has beenrepeatedly delayed due tolack of infrastructure.

Taking to the Twitter this Tuesday, the government-runPetroleum Authority of Uganda said: "Today we mark another milestone and move a step closer tofirst oil with the launch of the drilling of development andproduction wells for the Kingfisher oil fields."

The PAU, which regulates the petroleum sector, sai...