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The Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) has appointed Dutch multinational energy firm Vitol to market its newly named Pearl Sweet crude oil to the international market.
A September 7, statement co-signed by UNOC’s chief corporate affairs officer Tony Otoa and the Energy Ministry of Energy’s assistant commissioner for information management, Patricia Litho, indicates that Uganda’s crude oil is expected to be available for export to the international market early next year.
The twin announcement marks a major commercial milestone in Uganda’s entry into the global oil market.
“Vitol will bring its international trading, marketing and logistics capabilities to the sale of Pearl Sweet as Uganda completes the infrastructure needed to move crude from the Albertine region to international buyers,” the statement partly reads.
The statement described Pearl Sweet as a medium-to-heavy sweet crude with a high conversion yield profile.
The crude oil will be produced from the Tilenga and Kingfisher Development Areas, which are expected to reach peak combined production of up to 230,000 barrels per day and transported through the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) to the Port of Tanga in Tanzania, where the pipeline and associated export terminal are nearing completion.Eng. Irene Bateebe, the Energy Ministry Permanent Secretary, said last week that the Kingfisher development area is currently at an 80% completion rate in general but at about 98% on first oil preparedness.“…meaning that they are now entering commissioning testing and they should be ready for first oil by the end of September, as CNOOC,” Bateebe said last week.Similarly, she said the Tilenga development area, which covers six oil fields and is designed to develop approximately 420 wells connected to a central processing facility, has over 210 oil wells drilled, which is more than the minimum requirement for first oil.Dr Monica Musenero, the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, described Vitol’s appointment as a sign that Uganda is moving from development to delivery.“As we complete the production and export infrastructure, we are now putting in place the commercial capability to take Pearl Sweet to the world.Vitol’s global reach, trading expertise and logistics strength will help us place this crude with the right refiners and maximise value for Uganda when exports begin in early 2027,” Musenero is quoted in the statement.Relatedly, UNOC, Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) and Vitol in August signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a regional energy hub at the Port of Tanga.The port is strategically positioned to serve Asian and Middle Eastern markets while creating an additional logistics corridor for landlocked Uganda and neighbouring countries.The marketing appointment further deepens the wider relationship between UNOC and Vitol, as the latter has, for the last two years, been working with the Ugandan government since UNOC took direct charge of the country’s petroleum products supply programme.Both UNOC and Vitol have signed a $2b (about sh7.549 trillion) facility to support the development of energy infrastructure.Kieran Gallagher, the head of Vitol Asia, described the marketing opportunity as an ‘honour to partner with Uganda to bring its new crude oil, Pearl Sweet, to market’.“Pearl Sweet is well suited to many Asian refineries, and we anticipate a great deal of interest. Vitol is delighted to deploy its expertise and logistical capabilities as Uganda expands its energy sector,” Gallagher is quoted as having said in the statement.