He also credited Kenyan President William Ruto for supporting the new arrangement, which allows Uganda to transport its petroleum products through Kenya’s pipeline network.
President Yoweri Museveni has said Uganda significantly reduced the cost of importing petroleum products after ending an arrangement in which the country sourced fuel through middlemen in Kenya.
Museveni made the revelation in a statement following his 82nd birthday celebrations and days after he broke ground for the 320-million-litre Kampala Storage Terminal in Mpigi District.
According to the President, Uganda had been purchasing petroleum products through Kenyan intermediaries without his knowledge until a Kenyan senator brought the matter to his attention around 2019.
Museveni said he subsequently tasked the then Energy Minister, Irene Muloni, to address the matter, but no immediate change was made.
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He said the government eventually changed its procurement approach in 2023 after Uganda linked up with Vitol, a global energy company involved in refining and bulk supply.
Under the arrangement, Museveni said the cost of fuel supplied to Uganda fell substantially.
For diesel, he said the price per metric tonne dropped from $118 to $83, while the price of petrol fell from $97.50 to $61.50.
The cost of aviation fuel, he added, dropped from $114.25 to $79.25 per metric tonne.
The figures were also cited by Energy Ministry Permanent Secretary Irene Batebe during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Kampala Storage Terminal. Uganda’s government has presented the reductions as savings resulting from the change in procurement arrangements.
Museveni said the new arrangement involved direct engagement with bulk suppliers and refineries rather than relying on intermediaries.
He also credited Kenyan President William Ruto for supporting the new arrangement, which allows Uganda to transport its petroleum products through Kenya’s pipeline network.
Uganda, he said, also acquired a 20.15% shareholding in the Kenya oil pipeline.
“We are very happy with the Kenya Government of President Ruto on this matter,” Museveni said.
The President’s remarks come amid renewed debate in Kenya over the country’s government-to-government fuel importation arrangement. Kenyan officials have disputed interpretations that Museveni’s remarks referred to the current G-to-G system, with President Ruto’s economic adviser David Ndii saying on September 20 that Museveni was referring to an earlier arrangement dating back to 2017.
Museveni said the experience demonstrated the importance of ensuring that Uganda directly controls strategic aspects of its petroleum supply chain.
He made the remarks as Uganda moves to expand its petroleum storage capacity through the new Kampala Storage Terminal, which is being developed by the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC).
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The facility, located on about 300 acres in Mpigi District, is expected to cost about $250 million and will increase Uganda’s national petroleum storage capacity from an estimated 160 million litres to about 480 million litres when completed.
Museveni said adequate storage would strengthen Uganda’s fuel security as the country develops its petroleum industry.
He also used his birthday message to call for greater African economic integration, arguing that a larger continental market would enable producers to expand trade and create more opportunities for wealth creation.
The President said Africans should pursue three historical missions: economic prosperity through integration of the African common market, strategic security through political integration where possible, and greater unity among the continent’s peoples.
He thanked the estimated eight million people who, he said, congratulated him on his 82nd birthday on September 15.
Museveni said he hoped to continue serving alongside his wife, Janet Museveni, and reach 100 years of age, while encouraging Africans to work towards what he described as the continent’s outstanding historical missions.
