<p>Large-scale oil deposits were announced in Ugandan in 2006, and subsequently proven by the drilling of numerous successful test wells. This study was conducted in Bulisa and Kikuube districts in 2020 to assess the environmental effects of oil exploration in the Albertine Graben. Interviews were conducted with households around exploration and waste management sites. Soil and water samples were collected around oil and gas exploration and waste consolidation sites following standard protocols and analysed for presence of trace elements and salts using Induced Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Social surveys revealed that oil and gas exploration displaced residential and agricultural landscapes, fishing grounds but also generated wastes that contaminated public water sources and agricultural soils. Laboratory analysis of soils revealed significantly higher concentration of salts such as Na, Mg, K and Ca as well as trace elements especially Fe, Ni, Cu, As and Pb around Kingfisher exploration sites and Bugungu waste consolidation area compared to controls (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.01). However soil samples collected around Ngiri and Kigogole 1 exploration sites revealed no evidence of contamination. Water samples collected around Kingfisher exploration site contained significantly higher concentrations of S, Al, Co and Ni than controls (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.05) but also generally higher concentrations of Fe and Mn. It would therefore appear that both area geology as well as oil and gas exploration activities contributed significantly to concentrations of salts such as Na, Mg, K and Ca and trace metals especially Fe, Al and Mn in water and soils in the Albertine Graben.</p>