A fuel tanker at the launch of bulk petroleum imports by UNOC last year
The Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) will import its first order of petroleum products through Mombasa port in June 2024 after getting a license from Kenya’s Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA).
Last month, Kenya granted UNOC a license to import petroleum products through Mombasa port, which ended a standoff that saw the country’s two presidents get involved. As a result of the feud, Uganda also has since explored the Tanzania route.
The Minister of Energy, Dr Ruth Nankabirwa, said the delay to get the licence delayed UNOC’s plans.
“We got the license this month, but it was too late for the products of April to come. So, we shall now place an order for June,” she said on Tuesday during the swearing-in ceremony of new UNOC Board members.
She explained that UNOC, under the new arrangement, will work with partners to ensure that pump prices come down as soon as possible.
While Uganda imports 90 percent of its refined petroleum products through Mombasa port, they have been handled by oil marketing companies operating in Kenya through the Kenya Open Tender System.
However, Uganda last year made a policy shift, which empowered UNOC to be the sole importer and supplier of all petroleum products.
UNOC will buy petroleum imports from Vitol Bahrain and Ms Nankabirwa said the government will construct a storage terminal in Namwabula, Mpigi District to ensure that the oil and petroleum products market is stable and pump prices are manageable.
Mathias Katamba, who took over from Emmanuel Katongole as the new UNOC chairman, said they will work with partners to ensure that pump prices come down as soon as possible.
The seven-member board also has six non-executive directors, including Eng Herbert Mugizi, Ms Justine Isenyi, Dr Ivan Lule, Mr Moses Kabanda, Dr Simon Echegu and Ms Zulaika M. Kasajja.
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