Kabaale refinery heading for sanction in 2022 with start-up set for 2026

摘要

THE environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) for the Kabaale refinery in Uganda is due for completion in August 2021 by which time front-end engineering and design work will also be wrapped up, according to Michael Mugerwa, general manager of the state-owned Uganda Refinery Holding Company (URHC). A final investment decision has been earmarked for the first quarter of 2022, with start-up scheduled for 2026, he said. The refinery's economics "are very attractive," Mugerwa told NBS TV station, and will compete with petroleum products currently trucked 1200 kilometres from the coast. The facility is being developed by the GE-led Albertine Graben Refinery Consortium that also includes Saipem -which will build the plant - as a key partner. As well as the refinery itself, the ESIA work covers a 10-kilometre water intake pipeline from Lake Albert, a 220-kilometre multi-product pipeline to Kampala storage terminal, and the upgrading of roads to handle abnormal loads approaching 200 tonnes.