Overview:
UNOC expects about $72m in cash calls as Uganda targets first oil in late 2026, as the finance minister urges it to find more sustainable funding.
KAMPALA — Finance Minister Henry Musasizi has directed the board of the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) to pursue alternative and more sustainable financing as the country’s oil projects near production, in a push to reduce the state firm’s reliance on the national budget.
Musasizi, accompanied by state ministers Amos Lugoloobi and Cissy Mulondo, met the UNOC board and urged it to explore innovative funding options to strengthen operations, the Ministry of Finance said.
He commended the company for keeping Uganda supplied with fuel at relatively stable prices despite global geopolitical tensions, but questioned the wide variation in pump prices across the country, pointing to differences between Kabale, Masaka, Mbarara and Kampala.
UNOC reported that the flagship projects were nearing completion by the end of June, putting the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) at 89.4%, the Kingfisher field at 79.36% and Tilenga at 74.2%. Those figures broadly track the mid-year updates from the Petroleum Authority of Uganda and the Uganda Investment Authority.
The company said it expected about $72m (roughly UGX 266bn) in cash-call obligations as Uganda moves towards first oil, which the government and its partners are targeting in the second half of 2026. CNOOC, which operates Kingfisher, has said crude exports could begin around October.
On fuel supply, UNOC said its sole-importation volumes had risen 39% and that it was now supplying 36 oil marketing companies. Gross margins from the business rose to UGX 540bn (about $146m) in the 2025/26 financial year, up from UGX 387bn (about $105m), the company said.
Under a $2bn facility from the oil trader Vitol Bahrain — approved by Parliament in December 2025 at 4.92% interest over 84 months — UNOC said $150m had been disbursed, of which UGX 536bn (about $145m) was transferred to the finance ministry.
The company said it was also advancing major infrastructure, including a 320-million-litre storage terminal in Kampala, a 110-million-litre terminal in Mombasa, the planned 60,000-barrel-per-day refinery and first-phase works at Kabalega Industrial Park, where it said UGX 37.96bn (about $10m) had been secured.
UNOC proposed what it called a self-financing model, saying its sole-importation business generates about $3m a month in administrative charges. Even so, the company said continued government commitment to capitalise it remained critical to unlocking its potential to drive economic growth.
The finance ministry said the engagement reflected the government’s focus on building a financially sustainable UNOC as the country advances towards first oil.