Uganda Names Export Crude Blend Pearl Sweet as Oil Projects Near Production

By Adedapo Adesanya

Uganda has named its emerging export crude blend Pearl Sweet as the country’s $15 billion Tilenga-Kingfisher-East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) development moves towards production and exports.

President Yoweri Museveni unveiled the name on Wednesday at a ceremony at the Kingfisher Development Area in the Lake Albertine Graben, giving Uganda’s crude a distinct commercial identity ahead of its entry into international oil markets.

Pearl Sweet will combine crude from the Tilenga and Kingfisher oil developments, operated by TotalEnergies EP Uganda and CNOOC Uganda Limited respectively. The crude will be processed and comingled at the Kabaale Shared Facilities in Hoima before being transported through the 1,443-kilometre EACOP to Tanzania’s Tanga port.

The name combines Uganda’s national identity with a description of the crude’s characteristics. “Pearl” references Uganda’s long-standing description as the “Pearl of Africa”, while “Sweet” reflects the crude’s low sulphur content.

The blend is also classified as medium-light crude, with an API gravity of between 28 and 31 degrees, a characteristic that can support higher yields of lighter petroleum products and potentially improve its value to refiners.

Mr Museveni said Uganda had sought to ensure that the development of its oil resources would generate wider economic benefits for the country.

“What you sow is what you reap,” the President said, stressing the importance of developing the domestic oil industry and ensuring that the benefits of the finite resource extend to future generations.

He said refining oil domestically would support the local economy and help protect the environment, noting that the government had prohibited gas flaring.

Uganda’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Mrs Monica Musenero Masanza, said the naming of Pearl Sweet represented an important milestone as the country prepared to enter the international oil market.

“Uganda’s oil journey is anchored on efficiency, responsibility and ensuring that our resources create lasting value for Ugandans,” she said.

She added that progress on the Tilenga and Kingfisher developments demonstrated Uganda’s readiness to produce oil while safeguarding the environment and ensuring that the industry contributes to the wider economy.

The Chief Executive Officer of Uganda National Oil Company, Mrs Proscovia Nabbanja, said the new name would help establish a recognisable identity for Uganda’s crude among refiners, traders and other participants in the international oil market.

“Pearl Sweet gives Uganda’s crude what every traded grade needs: a clear identity, a defined quality and a name the market can recognise,” Mrs Nabbanja said.

She said the naming would enable UNOC to begin the next phase of taking Uganda’s crude to market, developing relationships with refiners and traders and seeking to maximise value for the country.

The Chairperson of the Petroleum Authority of Uganda, Mrs Lynda Biribonwa, said the country’s focus should extend beyond oil production to ensuring that petroleum resources contribute to skills development, infrastructure, industrialisation and energy security.

“As Uganda prepares to enter the era of oil production, our collective responsibility is to continue converting petroleum resources into skills, enterprises, infrastructure, technology, industrialisation, energy security, and shared prosperity,” she said.

The Pearl Sweet name was selected following a technical assessment of the crude, stakeholder consultations and evaluation against commercial, cultural and international branding criteria before receiving presidential approval.

The Lake Albert Integrated Development is estimated to contain about 1.65 billion barrels of recoverable oil resources.

Tilenga, operated by TotalEnergies EP Uganda, is designed to produce about 190,000 barrels per day at peak production, while CNOOC Uganda Limited’s Kingfisher project is expected to produce about 40,000 barrels per day. Combined peak production is projected at approximately 230,000 barrels per day.

UNOC holds a 15 per cent participating interest on behalf of the Ugandan government in both upstream developments. Through its wholly owned National Pipeline Company Uganda Limited, it also holds a 15 per cent interest in EACOP alongside TotalEnergies, Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation and CNOOC.

The naming of Pearl Sweet comes as Uganda prepares to transition from oil development to production and export, with the crude expected to become the country’s first internationally marketed oil grade.