Uganda must solve three-piece oil puzzle in 2025
Energy minister says country is delaying first oil production until pipeline and refinery are ready
Uganda will postpone first oil production from the Lake Albert project due to financing difficulties facing a planned refinery and a crude export pipeline to Tanzania, Minister of Energy and Mineral Development Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu said in an exclusive interview with Petroleum Economist. Uganda, which has been struggling for two decades to pump oil, made the discovery in the western Lake Albert Basin in 2006 and has sought the help of IOCs and investors to finance the production of crude from two projects, in which TotalEnergies and China’s state-controlled CNOOC have majority stakes. To export the crude from the land-locked country, Uganda wants to build a 1,443km pipeline—known as the
Also in this section
1 April 2026
Golden Pass’s startup offers QatarEnergy a timely boost but may also force a difficult choice between honouring disrupted contracts and capitalising on soaring spot LNG prices
1 April 2026
It is not a case of if or when, but the length and magnitude of economic damage from elevated oil prices
1 April 2026
The US-Iran conflict demonstrates the need for diversification in several senses of the word. It also exposes the limits of Washington applying pressure on major oil and gas producers it considers geopolitical adversaries
31 March 2026
Disappointing results in its bidding round are a reality check for Libya, and global exploration generally






