KAMPALA, Uganda — The Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) announced Tuesday that the country is experiencing “temporary disruptions” in its petroleum product supply, leading to increased retail pump prices, particularly for gasoline.
The average price of gasoline in Kampala has risen to about 5,000 shillings per liter, up from 4,700 shillings in December 2024.
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UNOC attributed the reduced supply primarily to logistical challenges in product deliveries through Kenya during May 2025.
To ensure continued availability, UNOC stated it imported approximately 35 million liters of petroleum products via Tanzania. While this maintained product flow, the longer transit distance and associated transportation costs had a “marginal impact on pump prices,” according to a UNOC media handout.
UNOC, whose primary role is to manage the government’s commercial interests in the petroleum sector, assured the public that by Monday, June 2, over 90 million liters of petroleum products would be available within the Kenya Pipeline system for Ugandan Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs). Of that, 53 million liters of gasoline were being loaded by OMCs for delivery to Uganda.
The company anticipates an additional 200 million liters of gasoline, diesel and Jet A-1 will be received into the Kenya Pipeline system and made accessible to OMCs by the weekend of June 6-8.
UNOC expressed optimism that the steady incoming supply, combined with a recent drop in global Platts prices and a favorable exchange rate, will restore supply consistency nationwide and stabilize retail pump prices in the coming days.
UNOC began its mandate as Uganda’s sole importer of petroleum products following the passage of the Petroleum Supply (Amendment) Act 2023. Its first imports arrived at Mombasa Port in Kenya with the MT Navig8 Martinez on July 3, 2024, carrying 58,000 metric tons of gasoline, and the MT Sinbad on July 4, 2024, with 80,000 metric tons of diesel.
