Uganda National Oil Company (Unoc) has begun selling petroleum products to Tanzanian and Ugandan oil marketing businesses as a market test before launching a direct import agreement with Vitol Bahrain.
Officials from oil corporations said Unoc has offered products to its subsidiaries in the two nations in tiny amounts.
Unoc is due to begin directly importing from Vitol Bahrain under a five-year agreement, as Uganda seeks to remove decades of reliance on Kenyan oil marketing companies (OMCs) for the supply of fuel.
Uganda and Kenya fell out after Nairobi signed a government-backed agreement to purchase petroleum on credit from three Gulf oil firms. Kampala states that intermediaries in the arrangement have caused high pump prices.
“Unoc is currently offering products for sale to OMCs in Tanzania and Uganda. This is fuel supplied by Vitol Group. They (Unoc) have offered the product to our subsidiary companies in Tanzania and Uganda,” an official at one of the OMCs mentioned.
Source: Energy Ghana