East African Countries Formalize Petroleum Sector Cooperation Through Landmark Agreement
Uganda, Tanzania, and Zanzibar have signed a comprehensive Memorandum of Understanding to enhance regional collaboration in petroleum resource management, marking a significant step toward integrated energy development across East Africa. The tripartite agreement was formalized in Entebbe, bringing together the Petroleum Authority of Uganda, Zanzibar Petroleum Regulatory Authority, and Tanzania’s Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority.
The MoU establishes formal frameworks for cooperation in cost monitoring, environmental protection, and local content development while facilitating the exchange of best practices and institutional capacity building. PAU Board Chairperson Lynda Biribonwa emphasized the significance of the agreement, noting that East Africa represents “one of the most prolific frontier areas for oil and gas exploration and development.”
The formalization comes at a crucial time for Uganda’s energy sector, with the long-awaited “First Oil” now expected in 2026 after multiple delays due to infrastructure challenges, financing issues, and regulatory complexities. The country’s estimated 6.5 billion barrels of oil reserves, with about 1.4 billion considered recoverable, represent a transformative opportunity for the national economy.
According to projections from the Bank of Uganda and Ministry of Finance, full-scale oil production could boost Uganda’s GDP by up to 2 percentage points annually, with total growth expected to exceed 7% by 2027. The country anticipates earning between $1.5 billion and $2 billion annually in oil revenues at peak production, based on current global prices and planned production of 60,000 barrels per day for domestic refining and 130,000 barrels per day for export via the East African Crude Oil Pipeline.
Finance Minister Matia Kasaija has allocated 875.8 billion Ugandan shillings for the next financial year toward oil, gas, and mineral industrialization, supporting mineral resource quantification and enhanced tracking systems across the extractive sector.
Source: NilePost.co.ug
