KAMPALA, Uganda-Uganda has received detailed proposals from four
of the six international companies shortlisted last year to build
the country's first oil refinery in the oil-rich Lake Albertine
Rift basin, the Energy and Minerals Ministry said Wednesday.
An evaluation team comprising government representatives and
experts from the transaction advisor, U.S.-based Taylor-DeJongh
will assess the plans in June and announce the successful bidder,
the ministry said in a statement.
A lead investor for the 60,000 barrels-a-day refinery is vital
for the development of the country's vast oil fields that are
believed to contain as much as 3.5 billion barrels of crude.
"One of the government's objectives is to select an investor
that will develop a refinery to convert Uganda's waxy crude oil
into the desired petroleum products," said Robert Kasande, the
Refinery Project Manager.
Among the companies that submitted proposals are a consortium
led by Russia's RT Global Resources, Japan's Marubeni Corp.
(8002.TO), a Chinese consortium, led by Petroleum Pipeline Bureau
and South Korea's SK Energy Co.
Negotiations with the winning bidder are expected to be
completed by the end of the fourth quarter to pave the way for the
start of construction early next year, Mr. Kasande said.
Uganda issued an international tender for the construction of
the refinery in October, weeks after the country issued its first
oil production license for Kingfisher oil field to China's Cnooc
Ltd.
The refinery and the oil field are both expected to come on
stream around 2018.
Uganda also plans to start awarding fresh oil and gas
exploration licenses next year after an eight-year freeze, in
attempt to speed up the development of its largely unexplored oil
industry.
Write to Nicholas Bariyo at nicholas.bariyo@wsj.com
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