Uganda Engages in Negotiations with UAE Investment Firm for Planned $4 Billion Oil Refinery
Uganda is in talks with an investment company led by a member of Dubai’s royal family to develop a proposed $4 billion refinery for a portion of its crude oil, according to the country’s energy minister on Tuesday.
In July of the previous year, Uganda terminated negotiations with a consortium, including a unit of the US firm Baker Hughes, due to its failure to secure financing promptly.
The 60,000 barrel-per-day refinery is a crucial component of Uganda’s emerging hydrocarbons industry. Energy and Mineral Development Minister Ruth Nankabirwa announced at a news conference, “Expressions of interest were received from several potential investors and they were evaluated… following which a memorandum of understanding was signed on the 22 of December 2023.”
Negotiations on key commercial details between the government and United Arab Emirates-based Alpha MBM Investments commenced on January 16 and are expected to conclude within three months, she added. Alpha MBM Investments is led by Sheikh Mohammed bin Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum, a member of Dubai’s royal family, according to the company’s website.
Uganda anticipates commencing commercial crude pumping in 2025 from fields in the Albertine rift basin near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. The fields are jointly operated by the Ugandan government, China’s CNOOC, and France’s TotalEnergies.
President Yoweri Museveni’s administration aims to process some of its crude domestically to enhance employment and benefit from technology transfer.
Nankabirwa also announced that Uganda had issued a license to CNOOC on Tuesday to produce Liquefied Petroleum Gas at a plant to be constructed in the Kingfisher development area that CNOOC operates.
Kingfisher is one of Uganda’s two commercial oil development fields. The second, Tilenga, is operated by TotalEnergies.
The minister did not specify the annual quantity of gas CNOOC would produce. Uganda’s gas reserves are estimated at 500 billion cubic feet.
Source: The East African