Oil & Gas

The East African country signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with UAE-based Alpha MBM Investments for the development of the refinery project in March last year, after similar initiatives with investors from Russia and South Korea failed. Alpha MBM Investments is expected to take a 60% stake in the facility, while the remaining 40% will be held by the state-owned Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC).

The refinery's final investment decision (FID) is expected in February 2027, and basic engineering works have already begun, the Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU) said on social media platform X on Wednesday. With a planned processing capacity of 60,000 barrels of oil per day, the refinery is expected to become a cornerstone of Uganda's emerging hydrocarbons industry when commercial oil production begins from fields in the country's west.

In a separate post on X, the PAU said the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), another key project for Uganda's hydrocarbons sector, was slightly behind schedule due to disruptions caused by the conflict in the Middle East.