• Uganda National Oil Company and Algeria’s Oil Company Sonatrach signed a Memorandum of Understanding to partner in the development of oil and gas projects in Uganda.

• The MoU covers establishing oil and gas upstream, midstream, and downstream schemes.

• The MoU aims to jointly assess cooperation opportunities across the entire oil and gas value chain.

Uganda National Oil Company and Algeria’s Oil Company Sonatrach signed a Memorandum of Understanding to partner in the development of oil and gas projects in Uganda. The MoU was signed by the General Manager of Uganda Refinery Holding Company Dr. Micheal Mugerwa on behalf of Uganda and Sonatrach Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Toufik Hakkar signed on behalf of Algeria.

This was announced by the state-owned oil company in a Sunday brief statement on Twitter. It disclosed that the MoU covers establishing oil and gas upstream, midstream, and downstream schemes, and also capacity building among others.

This was also part of President Museveni’s three-day visit to Algeria in which he said Uganda is looking at Algeria investing in Uganda’s refinery. The president said, “we want to build an inland refinery. It is absolutely necessary because it will cut transport costs seeing that we are far away from the coast”. He also expressed the need to fast-track economic integration in order to facilitate the modern prosperity of the African people. According to the president, this was top on the agenda in the talks held between himself and his host Abdelmadjid Tebboune at the Presidential palace in Algiers on Sunday morning.

Museveni noted that modern prosperity is based on the production and sale of goods and services, a reason why since 1980 through the Lagos Plan of Action, African leaders realized the issue of economic integration. “This has taken a long time but we are moving steadily. We have now agreed on the Continental Free Trade Area-CFTA, But in order for that to happen, you must have peace on the continent and that’s why therefore the discussion between His Excellency and myself focused on the issue of peace in Africa,” he said. He also said this should be followed by infrastructural development and commended Algeria for having moved ahead on that front by building communication linkages through the Sahara to West Africa.

The MoU aims to jointly assess cooperation opportunities across the entire oil and gas value chain. Through this agreement, Sonatrach seeks to develop partnership opportunities with UNOC so as to allow better use of the capacities available from both parties. Thus, this memorandum is part of Sonatrach’s strategic orientation targeting African markets and aiming to strengthen its presence at the continental and regional levels.