KAMPALA, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Monday said the country is committed to building its first oil refinery in the western territory.
Museveni made the remarks during a meeting with the delegation of Albertine Graben Refinery Consortium (AGRC), said the east African country's State House in a statement.
The president told the AGRC, a joint venture of the Uganda National Oil Company and four Italian and Mauritian companies, that the government is working on the start of oil production, and will use the oil revenue to build national capacity.
The government is also engaging with oil companies over the planned construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline between the oil wells in Albertine Graben, western Uganda, and the Tanzania seaport of Tanga, Museveni said.
Uganda expects to start commercial production of oil by 2022. The country has over 6.5 billion barrels of oil reserves, showed the figures of Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development.
Three international companies, namely China National Offshore Oil Corporation, Total, and Tullow have an equal stake in Uganda's so far discovered oil wells in Albertine Graben.
