AfrOil: Uganda seeks new investors for oil refinery project

Uganda’s government is looking for new partners to build a planned $4.5bn refinery to process crude oil from fields near Lake Albert, following the expiration of its existing agreement with the US-led Albertine Graben Energy Consortium Partners (AGEC).

In an official statement dated July 3, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development (MEMD) acknowledged that AGEC, which includes both US and Italian investors, had made significant progress toward the execution of plans to construct a 60,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery. It also pointed out, though, that the consortium had not been able to secure the funding needed to execute the project following the expiration of its project framework agreement (PFA) in June.

Under these circumstances, new investors must be found, the ministry said.

Uganda’s Energy Permanent Secretary Irene Batebe confirmed the announcement, telling The EastAfrican that Uganda would call for expression of interest for new partners and stating that AGEC “can still participate in the new process.”