Uganda’s Petroleum Exploration and Production Department (PEPD) has announced that it is looking for an investor to fund and operate its US$2.5bn oil refinery in the Lake Albertine Rift Basin
The PEPD has issued a pre-qualification notice for companies interested in bidding for the project. It also stated that the selected investor would have a 60 per cent stake in the refinery, with the remaining 40 per cent to be held by the Ugandan government.
The refinery would be established in the Hoima district, 230km west of Kampala. It is expected to have a capacity of 60,000 bpd.
According to a Reuters report, PEPD deputy commissioner Robert Kasande said that interested companies have up to one month to submit their bids for the refinery and the winner will be selected by April 2014.
Kasande added, “We are looking for somebody with prior experience and technical expertise in investing in a refinery.” The refinery would be ready to start production by 2017-18, Reuters reported.
Earlier this year, Uganda’s government had announced that up to 40 firms had expressed interest for constructing and operating the upcoming refinery at the basin.
The tender came shortly after Uganda issued its first oil production license to China’s CNOOC. Uganda’s oilfields have been estimated to contain up to 3.5bn barrels of crude and only 40 per cent of its oil regions have been explored.
The refinery will be developed in phases, with the initial phase producing 30,000 bpd before gradually increasing to 60,000 bpd, PEPD said.
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