The former Managing Director of Dfcu Bank, Mathias Katamba, has been named chairperson of the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC). Katamba replaces Emmanuel Katongole, who served for two terms.
In a letter to the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, President Yoweri Museveni named Katamba alongside five other members who are subject to vetting.
He will serve alongside Justine Isenyi, who currently works in the vice president’s office; Moses Kabanda, the acting commissioner for public administration at the Ministry of Finance; Herbert Mugizi, a principal engineer at the Ministry of Energy; Dr. Iva Lule, a chemical engineer; and Zulika Mirembe, a lawyer.
UNOC, a limited liability company owned by the Government of Uganda, is charged with handling Uganda’s commercial interests in the petroleum sector and ensuring that the resource is exploited sustainably.
This website broke the story of board replacement at UNOC after it was revealed that President Yoweri Museveni was irked over irregularities in recruitment of key personnel by the board.
According to sources, Museveni was irritated by the way the board led by Emmanuel Katongole tried to recruit senior manager who had no qualification for the position the agency had advertised.
It is said UNOC placed adverts for the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO) which many respondents responded to and as all these was ongoing, the Chief Executive Officer of UNOC was on leave. However, what surprised many at UNOC was that one of their colleagues who is also a daughter to a minister in government was handed the job amidst resistance from the Human Resources department head.
In January, UNOC identified a United Arab Emirates-based company as a lead partner in Uganda’s oil refinery project.
A substantial investment of at least $4 billion is earmarked for the project, one of three crucial oil and gas initiatives alongside the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) and the Upstream projects, namely Tilenga in Nwoya and Buliisa and Kingfisher in Kikuube.
Key commercial agreements are set to be signed before the Final Investment Decision (FID), encompassing the host government agreement, the crude supplier’s agreement, and the shareholders’ agreement.
The host government agreement, like EACOP’s, will be executed between the government and the refinery company, yet to be established. It outlines commitments and obligations, including security and land ownership for the Government of Uganda, and issues related to national content and health, safety, and the environment by the refinery company.
The Crude Suppliers Agreement is designed to secure the necessary feedstock of 60,000 barrels of crude oil per day required for the refinery and will be signed between the crude oil owners and the refinery company.
The crude oil owners include the Government of Uganda, represented by UNOC, TotalEnergies E&P Uganda, and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) Uganda Limited.
The Shareholders’ Agreement, to be signed by shareholders of the refinery company, details financial obligations, such as cash calls and defaults, and stipulates voting rights.
The project’s funding will consist of debt and equity at a ratio of 60:40, implying that 60% of the funding will be debt and 40% will be equity.
