‘Sweet Pearl,’ Uganda’s Oil Blend, Set to Join the Crude Exporters’ Club

Uganda has given its oil a name before it has begun producing it commercially. The country officially named its crude blend “Sweet Pearl” on Wednesday, presenting the move as a step toward joining the ranks of crude-exporting nations by the end of this year.

President Yoweri Museveni announced the name during a ceremony at the Kingfisher Development Area in western Uganda. A refinery with capacity for 60,000 barrels per day is also being built there. The Energy State Minister told reporters that the Kingfisher field should begin operating before the end of the year, with initial output of 28,000 barrels per day.

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This marks an important milestone on our path toward developing Uganda’s oil and gas resources to add value and achieve economic transformation.

Uganda expects production eventually to reach 230,000 barrels per day. The country estimates its recoverable reserves at 1.65 billion barrels. The name refers both to the oil’s low sulfur content and to Uganda’s long-standing nickname, the “Pearl of Africa.”

Museveni said Uganda would seek to gain more from its resources through refining, petrochemical industries and the use of associated gas to generate electricity. He said this would reduce the country’s dependence on imported petroleum products.

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Through refining, petrochemical industries and the use of associated gas for electricity generation, we will maximize the value of our national resources and reduce our dependence on imported petroleum products.

The fields in the Albertine Graben, near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, are operated by TotalEnergies, which holds 56.67 percent, China’s CNOOC with 28.33 percent, and Uganda National Oil Company with 15 percent. UNOC is now responsible for negotiating with international refineries. Most production will be exported through the 1,443-kilometre East African Crude Oil Pipeline to Tanzania’s port of Tanga. The $5 billion pipeline is designed to use electric heating to keep the viscous crude at 50°C during transport.

The project faces strong opposition from environmental and human rights organizations. They have called the pipeline a “carbon bomb” because of projected emissions of 379 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have also warned about spills and the displacement of 100,000 people linked to drilling about 100 wells in Murchison Falls National Park. TotalEnergies says it has compensated 99 percent of affected families and follows strict environmental protocols.

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carbon bomb