Speaking during a news conference, Uganda’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Development Ruth Nankabirwa said, "expressions of interest were received from several potential investors and they were evaluated ... following which a memorandum of understanding was signed on the 22 of December 2023."
Negotiations on the key commercial details between the government and United Arab Emirates-based Alpha MBM Investments started on Jan. 16 and are expected to be completed within three months, the minister added.
Alpha MBM Investments' website says it is led by Sheikh Mohammed bin Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum, a member of Dubai's royal family.
The East African nation expects to start pumping crude commercially in 2025 from fields in the Albertine rift basin in its western region near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The fields are jointly operated by the Ugandan government via the state-run Uganda National Oil Company, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, CNOOC and France's TotalEnergies.
Ugandan authorities say the East African nation wants to process some of its crude domestically to boost employment and benefit from technology transfer.
Kampala counts on the 60,000 barrel-per-day refinery for its nascent hydrocarbons industry.
Uganda in July last year terminated negotiations with a consortium that included a unit of U.S. firm Baker Hughes over its failure to mobilize financing in time.
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