Uganda, Tanzania, Vitol Sign Deal to Develop Tanga Regional Energy Hub
Kim Aine
August 6, 2026
DAR ES SALAAM: Uganda and Tanzania on Thursday expanded their energy partnership beyond the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, with Presidents Yoweri Museveni and Samia Suluhu Hassan overseeing an agreement to develop the Tanga Regional Energy Hub.
The memorandum of understanding was signed by the Uganda National Oil Company, Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation and global energy trader Vitol Bahrain E.C.
The deal comes at a time Uganda is preparing to start oil production before close of 2026.
It provides for the development of petroleum storage, refining, logistics, trading and distribution infrastructure in Tanzaniaβs port city of Tanga.
The planned hub is expected to complement Ugandaβs oil projects, including the 60,000-barrel-per-day Hoima refinery, while improving fuel security and opening new export routes across East and Central Africa.
Vitol is already a major partner in Ugandaβs petroleum sector.
The company entered a seven-year partnership with UNOC to support the countryβs fuel supply and infrastructure programme, backed by financing of up to $2 billion for petroleum storage, terminals, pipelines and related logistics.
Its involvement in the Tanga hub extends that partnership into a wider regional energy and trading network.
Ugandaβs Energy Minister Monica Musenero said the agreement marked another step in the two countriesβ strategy to use petroleum resources to support industrialisation rather than merely export raw commodities.
βAction speaks louder than words, and today we are privileged to witness a giant step towards joint development with our sister nation,β Musenero said.
Ugandan, Tanzanian and Vitol officials display the signed deal
She said the partnership would create jobs, deepen regional trade and support industries that add value to Ugandaβs petroleum resources.
βWe need to extract greater value by developing secondary and tertiary industries, building the knowledge economy and creating high-skilled jobs,β she said.
Musenero said feasibility and front-end engineering design studies for a refined petroleum products pipeline and storage terminal were expected to be completed later this year.
Studies for a proposed natural gas pipeline linking Uganda and Tanzania were also at an advanced stage and
Musenero added that Uganda had secured $250 million in World Bank financing for its section of a planned 400-kilovolt electricity interconnector with Tanzania.
Museveni and Samia in Tanzania
The line is expected to expand electricity trade, strengthen the Eastern Africa Power Pool and connect the region more closely with markets in Southern Africa.
Tanzanian Energy Minister Deo Ndejembi said the agreement built on the foundation established by EACOP and represented a shift towards refining, storage, logistics and industrial development.
βEACOP transports molecules. The Tanga Regional Energy Hub transforms those molecules into prosperity,β he said.
Ndejembi said the proposed hub could attract investment exceeding $20 billion and stressed that Ugandaβs Hoima refinery would complement rather than compete with the Tanga development.
βUgandaβs decision to develop the Hoima refinery reflects its sovereign objective of maximising value from its petroleum resources through domestic refining and industrial development. Tanzania fully supports that ambition,β he said.
A proposed bidirectional pipeline would allow refined petroleum products to move between Uganda and Tanzania depending on market demand, giving Uganda additional export options while strengthening fuel supply security in the region.
Museveni signs the visitors book as Samia looks on
Museveni, who is on a two-day working visit to Tanzania, held bilateral talks with Samia at State House before the signing ceremony. The two leaders discussed cooperation in energy, trade and other areas before Samia hosted Museveni at a state luncheon.
DAR ES SALAAM: Uganda and Tanzania on Thursday expanded their energy partnership beyond the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, with Presidents Yoweri Museveni and Samia Suluhu Hassan overseeing an agreement to develop the Tanga Regional Energy Hub. The memorandum of understanding was signed by the...
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