Overview:
As of Friday, November 15, 2024, most fuel stations in Kampala and surrounding areas were selling petrol at Shs4,800 while diesel is now being sold at around Shs4,500.
Motorists are breathing a sigh of relief as prices of fuel continue to fall.
As of Friday, November 15, 2024, most fuel stations in Kampala and surrounding areas were selling petrol at Shs4,800 while diesel is now being sold at around Shs4,500.
This is the lowest the fuel prices have dropped in the last six months.However, some stations of Total and Shell (Vivo Energy) are still selling at about Shs5,000, which they attribute to high operating costs.
The Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC), which now holds monopoly of importing petroleum products, which are then distributed to oil marketing companies in the country, said they hope the prices will drop further ahead of Christmas season.
in the coming weeks.
“Over the last six months, yes, the prices have really gone low and I hope that it can actually even go lower,” Mr Tony Otoa, the UNOC corporate affairs manager, said.
Mr Otoa gave oelaborate reasons for the current reduced fuel prices.
“We have maintained our constant supply of petroleum products into the country, so, at no time are we having any shortages or disruptions. We even have vessels [of fuel] coming [into the country] earlier than the expected time,” he explained.
In addition, he said, oil marketing companies are receiving products in the right amounts of quantities and at a good price.
“We are giving all these oil marketing companies the same uniform and low prices ranging between Shs 4000 to 5,000, per litre of fuel,” he said, adding, “What has also changed is that the small petrol stations used to buy fuel from other oil marketing companies. But now, the small service stations can buy from UNOC, which was not the case before, meaning that they will make their purchases at relatively cheap prices.”
Mr Otoa also said that numerous factors determine the oil prices, including the conflicts in the Middle East, which happens to be a major petroleum supplier in the world.
“And that is why we are pushing for the development of our own refinery which means that even with these problems in the Middle East, we are still shock-absorbed by our own product in the country,” he said.