The government of Uganda is talking to a company from Dubai, led by a royal family member, to build a $4 billion oil refinery.
Uganda picked Alpha MBM Investments LLC from five companies for the project, according to Ruth Nankabirwa, the Energy and Mineral Development Minister.
The two groups are supposed to make an agreement in the next three months.
Ms Nankabirwa said she hopes they won’t spend much time trying to find money. She believes they can get the money and technology needed to help refine their crude oil and meet environmental regulations.
The minister said that rules will be made to lower the project’s pollution and lessen its impact on the environment.
The government says the refinery will help Uganda process some of its crude oil for money. Officials say there will be $20 billion invested in the sector.
The country plans to start selling crude oil in 2025.
“So far, the investments have helped the economy by $8. 6bn We expect to get even more, between $20bn-$25bn,” Ms Nankabirwa told Newsday.
Uganda is working on a new oil project. They want to build a pipeline that is 1,443km long to move oil from Western Uganda to Tanzania’s Tanga port for export.
More update on this story soon.