The Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) is seeking $2.6 billion in additional funding from the government to finance its planned investments over the next four years, including refinery development, petroleum storage facilities and regional pipeline infrastructure.
Emmanuel Mugagga, UNOC’s chief financial officer, told Bbeg Media at Parliament that the company had started engaging the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to secure the funding needed to implement its projects.
“We have started engagements with the finance ministry to seek additional funding to deliver UNOC’s mandate,” Mugagga said.
He was responding to recommendations arising from the Auditor General’s report for the 2024/25 financial year, particularly concerns about the implementation of UNOC’s approved budget and the financing of its planned activities.
Mugagga said the proposed funding would support investments in the refinery project, including the Kabaale Petrochemical Industrial Park in Hoima District, the construction of the Kampala Storage Terminal and the upgrading of the Jinja Storage Terminal.
The company also plans to acquire a petroleum storage terminal in Mombasa, Kenya, purchase shares in the Kenya Pipeline Company and construct the Eldoret-Kampala pipeline.
These projects are intended to strengthen Uganda’s petroleum storage and transportation infrastructure and support the country’s participation in the regional oil and gas industry.
However, the proposed investments will require substantial government financing, with UNOC seeking to secure the resources needed to implement its plans over the next four years.
Revenue targets revised
Mugagga also explained UNOC’s revenue performance during the 2024/25 financial year, saying the company had revised its target for the margin earned on petroleum products.
When UNOC prepared its strategic plan for the financial year, it had projected a unit margin of $60 per cubic metre.
However, the company was unable to achieve the target during negotiations for the Petroleum Products Supply Agreement (PPSA), prompting it to revise the expected margin to $30 per cubic metre.
Mugagga said the actual average unit margin for the financial year was $39.4 per cubic metre, exceeding the revised target.
The revision also addressed the Auditor General’s recommendation that UNOC should base its budgets on realistic revenue projections that reflect the margins it can reasonably expect to earn.
The unit margin refers to the amount earned per cubic metre of petroleum products handled or supplied, before taking account of the relevant operating costs and other expenses.
Mugagga also addressed concerns about the absorption of available funds, explaining that UNOC was working to align recruitment and procurement with its available resources and operational needs.
He said recruitment had been carried out in phases because the company needed to ensure that its wage bill remained within the approved budget.
The company was also working to complete pending procurements and improve procurement planning and efficiency.
According to Mugagga, UNOC implemented 77 % of its recruitment plan during the 2024/25 financial year, bringing its staffing level to 59.2 per cent of the approved organisational structure.
He attributed the shortfall in wage-budget absorption to the phased recruitment process, saying vacant positions were filled cautiously in line with available funding, anticipated business growth and approved annual recruitment plans.
Mugagga said UNOC’s staffing requirements continued to change as the company’s mandate and business activities expanded.
As of August 31, 2026, the company had 247 employees, compared with 202 in June 2025.
UNOC also provided an update on the ownership of land earmarked for its projects, following concerns raised by the Auditor General about the absence of sufficient evidence of ownership for some non-current assets.
Michael Nkambo Mugerwa, UNOC’s general manager, said the land titles for the Jinja Storage Terminal, covering Plot 1 and Plots 2 to 6, had been processed and issued in the name of the Uganda Land Commission.
Mugerwa said the company had also secured a long-term lease for land at the Kabaale Petrochemical Industrial Park in Hoima District.
On June 6, 2023, UNOC obtained a 49-year lease title covering land in the villages of Kabaale, Nyahaire, Kigaaga, Kayera, Nyakasenene, Bukona A, Bukona B, Nyamasoga, Kyapuloni, Kijumba, Busereka and Hoima.
He said the leasehold title was now registered in UNOC’s name, providing the company with legal documentation for the land required for the industrial park.
Regarding the Kampala Storage Terminal, Mugerwa said UNOC was granted an offer for a 49-year lease on June 6, 2023, for land at Namwabula East in Mpigi District, where the terminal is located.
