Lyoidah Kiconco is a petroleum geoscientist with over 23 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, education, and natural resources. She’s currently the Head of Exploration and New Ventures at the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC), where she oversees the company’s exploration and new ventures.

Before this role, Lyoidah worked with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, Carlton Limited, and SLB, taking on various technical, leadership, management, and advisory roles both locally and internationally.

At the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, she played a major role in the early efforts that led to Uganda’s first commercial oil and gas discovery in 2006, as well as subsequent finds. She was instrumental in UNOC’s acquisition of the exploration license for the Kasuruban Contract Area, showing her dedication to unlocking Uganda’s natural resources and contributing to the country’s energy security and economic development.

Lyoidah’s expertise spans a wide range of areas, including geoscience data collection and analysis, assessing new exploration areas, modeling oil and gas reservoirs, estimating resources, field development planning, and managing petroleum operations. She’s also involved in business development, marketing, and sales.

She’s passionate about education and helping Ugandans, especially youth and girls. She helped develop petroleum-specific courses for Makerere University and the Uganda Petroleum Institute, Kigumba, and continues to be active in curriculum development, mentorship, and career guidance for students.

Lyoidah is also committed to promoting women’s advancement in various sectors. She led the creation and launch of the Women in Energy and Extractives Network (WEEN), which aims to support gender equity and provide a platform for women in the industry to connect and collaborate.

Her qualifications include a Doctorate in Leadership and Strategic Management, an MBA, Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, an MSc in Petroleum Geology, an MSc in Water Resources Management (Hydrogeology), a BSc in Geology & Chemistry, a Diploma in Management of Petroleum Operations, and several other certifications.