Pipeline of Prejudice: How Technical Bias, Malice, and Corruption Choked Northern Uganda’s Oil Wealth

What the report says

Nile Post published an opinion piece arguing that Uganda’s oil and gas planning has disadvantaged the Acholi sub-region in northern Uganda, where the article says a large share of the country’s crude oil and gas reserves are located. The author says this pattern has affected decisions on infrastructure, export routes, and refinery development, and frames the issue as one of political bias, weak technical planning, and corruption.

The article focuses in particular on a proposal advanced by the Acholi Technical Working Committee on Oil and Gas in 2014 for a Trans-North crude oil export pipeline. According to the piece, that route would have run from Nwoya through Gulu and connected to Kenya’s LAPSSET corridor, and it claims the option would have been shorter and cheaper than the route ultimately chosen. The author says the government instead favored other routes, including the Tanga Route through Tanzania, while also failing to prioritize roads and oil facilities in the north.

The commentary also says Uganda’s refinery plans have repeatedly stalled. It cites a 2015 arrangement with a Russian-led consortium that later ended, an April 2018 agreement for a 60,000-barrels-per-day refinery that reportedly lapsed in 2023, and a March 2024 deal with an Emirati investor that has not yet produced visible progress. The piece argues that these delays show a broader governance problem and a missed opportunity for industrial growth.

The article further alleges that corruption has driven away potential investors, naming Aliko Dangote as an example, though these claims are presented as the author’s account rather than independently verified reporting. More broadly, the piece says northern Uganda’s oil wealth should have supported local development, reconciliation, and shared national prosperity.