NEWS ANALYSIS | URN | Nearly two decades after commercially viable oil was discovered in the Albertine Graben, Uganda is edging closer to a milestone that successive governments have described as transformational. According to recent reports, TotalEnergies indicated that first oil from the Tilenga Project should begin flowing around September …
Read More »Trump announces talks with Iran on Monday
WASHINGTON | Xinhua | U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that negotiations with Iran will begin Monday afternoon, noting that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar had asked the United States to call off planned strikes because “they think there’s a deal.” “There’s a deal on …
Read More »Local firms secure more contracts as Uganda’s oil projects matures
Hoima, Uganda | URN | The petroleum sector continued to register steady progress during the quarter ending June 30, 2026, with major oil infrastructure projects moving closer to completion while Ugandan companies secured additional contracts under the country’s national content programme. According to the latest quarterly update by the Petroleum …
Read More »How EAC Central Banks are responding to geopolitical tensions
Kampala, Uganda | URN | The effects of the conflicts in the Middle East and Eastern Europe have dominated the 29th Ordinary Meeting of the Monetary Affairs Committee of the East African Community, which just ended in Uganda. All seven governors of the central banks (minus DRC) decried the …
Read More »Dangote’s proposed Kenya refinery tests a new blueprint for African industrialisation
The proposed refinery in Lamu is the company’s first effort to export the industrial model behind its Lagos refinery, potentially providing a blueprint for replicating large-scale African industrial projects across multiple countries. SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY | Dangote Industries is attempting to replicate the industrial model behind its …
Read More »Oil shocks are no longer so shocking
COMMENT | NOURIEL ROUBINI | The Persian Gulf is in an unstable disequilibrium. There has been no lasting deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, because the United States and Iran remain far apart in their demands, with the Iranians holding more leverage than President Donald Trump ahead of the US …
Read More »Africa’s oil producers are investing more in critical minerals
SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY | Nigeria’s discovery of a major new critical minerals province reflects a broader shift as Africa’s leading oil producers invest in mining to diversify their resource economies. The strategy aims to reduce dependence on a single commodity by expanding exploration, attracting mining investment and building …
Read More »Lessons for Uganda as South Sudan regains oil financing access
Settlement with BB Energy restores crude-backed financing access while underscoring the need for careful management of future petroleum revenues Juba, South Sudan | AGENCIES | South Sudan has regained limited access to advance financing against its future crude oil exports after reaching an agreement with commodities trader BB …
Read More »EACOP: Four Ugandan farmers sue to halt pipeline before first oil
Kampala, Uganda | URN | Four Ugandans have filed a landmark lawsuit in the UK High Court seeking to stop the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) from becoming operational. Their lawyers described the move as the first attempt to have a British court apply Ugandan constitutional, climate and environmental …
Read More »‘Oil is a Curse’: Villages in Uganda face land ownership uncertainty
Buliisa, Uganda | URN | For as long as Moses K. Asaba can remember, his family has lived on the ancestral land they call home. A resident of Bugana Village in Uganda’s Buliisa District, he speaks with a deep sense of uncertainty and frustration, no longer certain that he and his …
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