Uganda Chooses Emirati Company for $4 Billion Refinery Development

Ugandan Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Ruth Nankabirwa, indicated today, Tuesday, that the country has selected Emirati company Alpha MPM Investments to assist in the development of a planned refinery valued at four billion dollars to process some of its crude oil. Uganda concluded negotiations in July of last year with a consortium that included a subsidiary of American company Baker Hughes, due to the company's inability to secure financing in a timely manner. Uganda is counting on the oil refinery, with a capacity of 60,000 barrels per day, for its emerging hydrocarbon industry. The country expects to start commercial crude oil production in 2025 from fields in the Albertine Basin in the western part of the country, near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.