Page 12 - DMEA Week 12 2022

DMEA REFINING DMEA

Uganda hopes for

refinery FID in 2023

AFRICA UGANDA’S Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa Project. This $10bn project will encompass
has said that the Albertine Graben Refinery the development of the Kingfisher and Tilenga
Consortium (AGRC) is on track to make a final oilfields by France’s TotalEnergies and China
investment decision (FID) next year on the con- National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) and
struction of a plant that will process crude oil the construction of the 1,443-km East Africa
from fields near Lake Albert. Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) by a consortium
Speaking at an event marking the launch of that includes TotalEnergies, CNOOC, Uganda
the country’s National Oil Spill Contingency National Oil Co. (UNOC) and Tanzania Petro-
Plan at the weekend, Nankabirwa stated that leum Development Corp. (TPDC). (Kingfisher
discussions among members of the consortium and Tilenga are due to start production in 2025,
were moving forward. and EACOP is slated to come on line in the same
The pace of these talks has been affected by year.)
the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pan- While in Italy, Nankabirwa has been negoti-
demic, but the group is working to accelerate the ating with members of AGRC, a private group
completion of all outstanding tasks, she stated, that will develop Uganda’s downstream capacity
according to a report from Monitor. via the construction of a 60,000 barrels per day
ARGC’s goal is to reach the FID stage in 2023 (bpd) refinery to process some of the crude oil
and bring the refinery on stream four years later, extracted from the Lake Albert fields.
she added. The consortium will also look for a AGRC’s members include Saipem (Italy),
partner for the project, she noted. which will also serve as an engineering, procure-
“We plan to announce the final investment ment and construction (EPC) contractor for the
decision for the refinery probably next year. We refinery project; Nuovo Pignone Internationale,
are looking for an anchor investor, and therefore, an Italian-based subsidiary of the US-based
the oil will come before the refinery is commis- oilfield services provider (OSP) Baker Hughes;
sioned ... in 2027,” she was quoted as saying by Yaatra Africa, a US-based investor focused on
Monitor. infrastructure in Africa; and LionWorks Group,
Nankabirwa travelled to Italy last month, fol- a Mauritius-based investor focused on African
lowing the FID on the upstream and midstream infrastructure that has agreed to provide addi-
components of the Lake Albert Development tional financing, expertise and funding.™

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 12 24•March•2022