The Uganda government urges an Australian oil explorer, Hardman Resources, to speed up tests to determine whether the recently-found oil in the west of the country is commercially viable, local media reported on Friday.

The deputy commissioner for petroleum exploration and production, Ernest Rubondo, lately said he wanted tests conducted on oil from the Mputa 1 and Waraga 1 sites in the country's west.

"The process involves establishing if the hydrocarbon deposits are extensive enough and if there is enough pressure for oil to flow to the surface," Rubondo explained.

"We expect the process to go on for two or so months but the most remarkable thing is that there is growing evidence that we could produce oil," he added.

Both wells had been cased and suspended at a depth of 2,010 meters pending the testing, according to Simon Potter, the managing director of Hardman Resources, in the company's latest progress report.

The discovery of the two oil sites is the first of its kind in Uganda, which is looking for new industries to boost its impoverished economy.

Source: Xinhua