President Yoweri Museveni has assented to the second petroleum [ Petroleum Refining, Conversion, Transmission and Storage] bill otherwise known as the “Midstream” bill. It will now be an Act of parliament for 2013, according to knowledgeable sources. This leaves the Public Finance Bill also known as the revenue management bill for the oil sector as the only law within the troika of Uganda’s petroleum laws. The upstream bill as assented to in April. It sets up the primary institutions for the petroleum sector. Amongst these institutions is the petroleum authority ( regulator) and the national oil company. The latter is the first institution to take shape. Sources now say the Ugandan cabinet is currently considering names for the board of the company whose memorandum and articles of association are ready. Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda recently agreed to joint projects including two petroleum pipelines to commercialize the country’s oil resources.
A refinery, once a point of disagreement between Uganda and oil companies is now in the works and its expected that a work program including expressions of interest in a Public Private Partnership will be announced next month. Uganda has gazetted a region for the refinery and is processing resettlement in the area although a RAP, the resettlement action plan remains pending further approvals.
