Uganda has signed an agreement with Alpha MBM Investments LLC, a company based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to construct its first oil refinery in the western Albertine Graben region.
According to a statement released by the State House late Saturday, Alpha MBM Investments will hold a 60% stake in the refinery, which will be located in Kabaale, Hoima District, in western Uganda. The remaining 40% will be owned by the state-run Uganda National Oil Company.
The signing of the agreement—witnessed by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni at the State House in Entebbe, 40 kilometers south of the capital Kampala—marks a significant milestone in Uganda’s emerging oil and hydrocarbons sector, the statement said.
“This oil refinery is not just about fuel; it is about Uganda producing and exporting refined products instead of importing them,” Museveni stated. “We must stop exporting raw materials and add value to everything we produce,” he added.
The refinery, a $4 billion project, is expected to have a processing capacity of 60,000 barrels per day. The project includes a modern refining complex in Kabaale and a 212-kilometer multi-product pipeline connecting the refinery to a storage terminal in Namwabula, Mpigi District.
Uganda discovered 6.5 billion barrels of oil in 2006, of which 1.4 billion barrels are considered commercially recoverable, according to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development.
