Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) is in talks with global commodities trader Vitol over a possible mandate to market the country’s newly branded crude, Pearl Sweet, as Uganda prepares for first oil exports in early 2027.
Officials say negotiations are still ongoing and no final appointment has been confirmed. The discussions cover marketing of the government’s and UNOC’s share of the crude, which President Yoweri Museveni formally named on September 2.
Pearl Sweet is described as a medium to heavy, high conversion yield grade to be produced from the Tilenga and Kingfisher fields, with combined output expected to reach up to 230,000 barrels per day.
Crude is to be transported through the 1,443-km East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) to the Port of Tanga in Tanzania, where work on the export terminal is nearing completion.
Energy and Mineral Development Minister Monica Musenero has said that placing the crude with the right refiners would help maximise value for Uganda when exports begin.
Vitol Asia head Kieran Gallagher has separately said Pearl Sweet is “well suited to many Asian refineries” and that the trader has seen strong interest in the new grade.
Any marketing arrangement would build on an already substantial relationship. Since August 2023, Vitol’s Bahrain based unit has held a five-year deal as Uganda’s sole importer of refined products; petrol, diesel and jet fuel — a role that took effect in July 2024 and replaced earlier Kenyan affiliated import routes that had handled about 90% of supply.
The finance ministry has said that arrangement had generated a net $150 million for UNOC as of December 2025, supporting supply stability and contributing to UNOC’s swing to a net profit of UGX 359.7 billion in the year to June 2025.
In December 2025, Vitol also agreed to lend UNOC up to $2 billion over seven years at 4.92%, financing Parliament has approved for projects including the Uganda Oil Refinery, a stake in the Kenya Pipeline Company, storage terminals in Kampala and Jinja, and a products-pipeline extension from Kenya into Uganda.
UNOC, Vitol and Tanzania’s TPDC last month signed an MoU on a regional energy hub at Tanga, covering refining, storage and trading. Vitol also has a regional retail presence through Vivo Energy.
Uganda’s growing reliance on a single trading partner across imports, potential export marketing and financing has drawn some domestic scrutiny over concentration risk, even as officials credit the relationship with steadier fuel supply.
