Uganda to Refine Its Crude Oil Resource & Restrict Exports
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Tuesday, 24 June 2008 |
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Uganda authorities have announced the construction of a refinery in
Uganda. At the smae time, Uganda¹s President Yoweri Museveni said that
the government has no plans to export crude oil.
The government plans to refine the crude and sell the finished
product to create what Museveni says are ³better economic
opportunities. Speaking at a conference of the Organization of
Islamic Countries (OIC), Museveni said Uganda¹s oil would be processed
and refined in the country.
Uganda will not export any crude oil. We must drill it and process it
before exporting it. If anyone wants to help us develop, they should
come and help us by setting up a refinery here, Museveni said. He also
added
that Uganda would not bow to pressure to export its crude, saying this would result in the country losing revenue.
The exportation of product from Uganda would be difficult anyhow as the
country has no port of its own and production, crude or refined, would
have to be shipped through either Kenya or Tanzania, or both. Energy
Minister Daudi Migereko has previously stated that in the future it
might be possible to reverse the pumps of an oil pipeline being
constructed from Eldoret, Kenya to Kampala, Uganda, once the
land-locked country is ready to export its own oil, so there is a
potential option should production volumes reach a level that makes
economic sense for the country to do so.
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