UGANDA MUST USE OIL REVENUES TO BUILD A DURABLE ECONOMY, MUSEVENI SAYS

What the report says

Watchdog Uganda reports that President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni used a Wednesday, September 2, 2026 event at the Kingfisher Development Area in Kikuube District to urge Uganda to manage upcoming oil earnings carefully. The occasion also marked the official branding of the country’s crude oil as “Pearl Sweet Petroleum,” a name tied to Uganda’s identity as the Pearl of Africa and the crude’s low sulphur content.

According to the report, Museveni said petroleum income should be channelled into productive, long-lasting assets rather than luxury imports or short-term spending. He warned against the “resource curse” seen in some oil-producing countries and argued that the country’s oil wealth should help build roads, power infrastructure, railways, universities, and industrial capacity that will remain useful after reserves decline.

The article says Uganda’s recoverable petroleum resources are estimated at 1.65 billion barrels, with peak output projected at about 230,000 barrels per day. It also notes plans to export crude through the 1,443-kilometre East African Crude Oil Pipeline to Tanzania’s port of Tanga. Museveni further highlighted the case for a domestic refinery to reduce fuel import costs and said associated gas from the Kingfisher field should be used for electricity generation and cooking gas instead of being wasted.

The report adds that Uganda has also invested in training citizens for petroleum roles, and that the president wants exploration to continue beyond the first commercial production.