Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa has appealed to the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) to ensure consistency and quality in the delivery of petroleum products.
This come as UNOC’s first consignment of directly imported petroleum products arrived at Mombasa Port on Wednesday.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony on Wednesday, Ms Nankabirwa said UNOC must ensure that the quality of the refined petroleum products delivered to the Mombasa port and destined for Uganda meets the desired quality specifications.
She also said the national oil company must ensure the vessel delivery schedules are conformed to ensure supply continuity to Uganda, without adversely affecting the performance of the Kenya pipeline system in servicing the other users.
“The change of the importation system for petroleum products destined for Uganda from the G2G arrangement to importation by UNOC will face operational challenges from the start as is always the case with change. We, however, commit to work with the Government of Kenya and the relevant authorities to support UNOC to implement the policy change and achieve the desired objectives,” she said.
Tony Otoa, the UNOC Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, explained that the first ship arrived from Jebel-Ali, UAE, with 58,000 metric tons of petrol. The second ship from Kuwait, which is expected on Thursday, will deliver 80,000 metric tons of diesel.
“The fuel will be discharged into the Kenya Pipeline Company infrastructure, delivering it to Eldoret, Kisumu and Nakuru in Kenya. Fuel tankers will thereafter deliver it to Uganda and should be available next week,” he said.
Mr Otoa said UNOC is working with oil marketing companies (OMCs), which will routinely forward their demand by placing orders. The relationship between UNOC & OMCs is facilitated by Supply and Purchase Agreements, he explained.
Following the Petroleum Supply (Amendment) Act, 2023, UNOC is now responsible for importation of all petroleum products (fuel) thereafter supplied to oil marketing companies (OMCs).