Uganda National Oil Co. Seeks $779.4 Million for Key Projects

KAMPALA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Uganda National Oil Co. said it needs $779.4 million over the next four years for revenue-generating projects such as a refinery, export crude pipeline and a storage terminal, as the country plans for crude production early in the next decade.

Government-owned UNOC is seeking funding in tranches, including $106.6 million in fiscal year 2019-2020, with the remainder to be allocated by 2023, according to a budget proposal for the Kampala-based company, posted on the finance ministry’s website.

Uganda, which discovered commercial oil reserves in 2006, has about 1.4 billion barrels of recoverable oil resources and is planning to start productionby 2022 and complete construction on a refinery the following year, Energy Minister Irene Muloni said last month. The East African nation later this year may unveil plans for a second round of oil and gas licensing to encourage exploration, she said.

UNOC needs $483 million for a 40 percent stake in the planned 60,000 barrel-a-day refinery, according to the budget proposal. It’s seeking $213 million for a 15 percent investment in the East African Crude Oil Pipeline Project, a 1,445-kilometer (898-mile) export conduit linking Ugandan oil fields with the port of Tanga in Tanzania.

The company will require $71.4 million for a 51 percent stake in the Kampala Storage Terminal for refined products and $12 million for bulk downstream trading, it said.

Other investment projects include an industrial park in the oil region for which it is seeking partners, as well as planned joint oil explorations locally with China’s Cnooc Ltd.

Source: Bloomberg Business News