Uganda plans to begin commercial oil production from its reserves in April 2025, and authorities stated on Tuesday that China is a potential source of funding for the construction of an export pipeline.
Although Ugandan officials have previously stated that manufacturing will begin in 2025, this is the first time they have provided a precise month.
“I hope that by April 2025 we shall see the first oil,” energy minister Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu said at a conference in Abu Dhabi.
Uganda and neighbouring Tanzania are also confident they will secure funding for a planned crude export pipeline, she said.
Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassan was expected to travel to China soon, Ssentamu said, for “the completion of the mobilization of resources. And I know that we will get money.”
“China is always ready,” she said when asked if the money would come from China. “China is always ready, and I want to encourage Europe, and I want to encourage America to [also]… invest in Uganda.”
The European Union parliament issued a resolution requesting TotalEnergies to postpone construction of the pipeline by a year in order to look into alternate routes or alternative renewable energy projects. Yoweri Museveni, the president of Uganda, has condemned the vote.
The proposed project has drawn opposition from environmentalists because it passes through a national park. Museveni, though, has welcomed it and threatened to “not allow anybody to play around” with “my oil” if it happens.
