The Albertine Graben Refinery Project in Hoima will be one of Uganda’s and Africa’s major oil and gas infrastructure projects in 2023. The 60,000-barrel-per-day refinery is one of 70 new oil and gas projects set to begin in Africa this year.
Albertine Graben Energy Consortium Partners (AGEC), a US-based consortium, has already committed to make the final USD 4.5 billion investment decision in the refinery, raising hopes that the project will finally get off the ground after years of planning.
A meeting in the US between President Museveni and Albertine Graben Refinery Consortium (AGRC), led by Rajakumari Jandhyala, President and CEO of YAATRA Africa, agreed that negotiations on pending issues should commence with a view to concluding the deal.
A State House statement issued in early December said the Final Investment Decision (FID) to be taken by the East African Energy Security Transition Investment Project is expected in 2023. Like elsewhere in the world, Uganda will be faced with a number of difficult decisions in negotiating the refinery project. Among the tough decisions to be made when considering the refinery will be the need to protect the environment and provide secure, affordable, and low-carbon energy.
The beginning of 2023 is likely to pave the way for a number of negotiations that, once concluded and agreed to, will lead to a final investment decision (FID) by the investors. The government of Uganda has in the past been accused of being a rigid and tough negotiator. Could the ongoing debate about the energy transition lead to a change in the negotiations?
The agreements are being negotiated at a time when the longer-term trend of decarbonization is influencing oil and gas investment decisions around the world. Earlier this year, Ernest Rubondo, Executive Director of the Petroleum Authority, told journalists that some of the lingering challenges relating to the refinery project included implementation negotiations and shareholder agreements.
