Singapore, 8 September 2026 — Uganda has formally introduced its crude oil, Pearl Sweet, to the international petroleum market at the Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference (APPEC) 2026 in Singapore, days after President Yoweri Museveni named the grade.
The Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Dr Monica Musenero Masanza, unveiled Pearl Sweet before international refiners, traders, investors and other industry players. “It is my great honour and privilege to be here at APPEC 2026 for this historic occasion: the unveiling of Uganda’s crude oil to the global market,” she said.
Museveni named the crude on 2 September during a visit to the Kingfisher Development Area in Kikuube District. According to the ministry, “Pearl” carries Uganda’s identity as the Pearl of Africa into the international market, while “Sweet” reflects the crude’s low sulphur content, which it puts at 0.12 percent.
The ministry describes Pearl Sweet as a heavy, sweet crude with high wax content and low acidity, characteristics it says offer refiners strong upgrading potential in secondary units, reduced corrosion and suitability for producing very low sulphur fuel oil under the IMO 2020 standard.
“Pearl Sweet therefore offers refiners across Asia, the Middle East and Europe a reliable and competitive feedstock, with a strong balance of operational flexibility, product value and refinery economics,” Dr Musenero said.
Pearl Sweet is a blend of crude from the TotalEnergies-operated Tilenga project and the CNOOC-operated Kingfisher project, which will be commingled at the Kabaale hub in Hoima before export. The state firm, the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC), is to market the grade on behalf of the government alongside the global trading house Vitol.
Uganda’s petroleum resource base is officially estimated at about 6.5 billion barrels of oil in place, of which around 1.4 billion barrels are recoverable, alongside about 500 billion cubic feet of natural gas. The ministry says these resources have been confirmed in less than 20 percent of the Albertine Graben, leaving further potential for exploration.
The commercialisation plan comprises upstream production of about 230,000 barrels a day at peak, a planned 60,000-barrel-a-day refinery and crude exports through the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).
Since the final investment decision for Tilenga, Kingfisher and EACOP in February 2022, the government, investors, contractors and Ugandan professionals have worked to advance the projects towards production. Together with the planned refinery and associated infrastructure, investments are estimated at about USD 20 billion.
EACOP will transport the crude 1,443 kilometres from Hoima to the marine export terminal at the Port of Tanga in Tanzania. The ministry says construction of the pipeline and export terminal has passed 90 percent completion.
Uganda’s petroleum development also includes the planned refinery at Kabaale in Hoima District, together with a 211-kilometre multi-products pipeline and a petroleum products storage terminal.
“The Government of Uganda is determined that our oil and gas sector must not operate as an enclave. It must be a catalyst for industrialisation, not simply an extractive activity,” Dr Musenero said.
Exploration is continuing in the Moroto-Kadam, Lake Kyoga and Hoima basins, and the ministry says preparations are under way for Uganda’s third petroleum licensing round.
Closing her remarks, Dr Musenero invited refiners, traders and investors to consider Pearl Sweet and the wider opportunities in Uganda’s oil and gas sector. “I invite all of you to interest yourselves in Pearl Sweet crude, and in the other exciting opportunities in oil and gas in Uganda, the Pearl of Africa,” she said.
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