KIKUUBE — Uganda has named its crude oil blend “Pearl Sweet”, giving the country’s petroleum a commercial identity as it moves closer to first oil production and entry into the international crude market.
Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) announced the name on Wednesday shortly after President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni presided over the crude oil naming ceremony at the Kingfisher Development Area in Kikuube District.
“Pearl Sweet! Uganda’s crude oil has been named,” UNOC announced on its official X account.
The naming marks a symbolic but important step in Uganda’s transition from an oil exploration country to a producer preparing to sell its crude on the global market.
UNOC Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Tony Otoa had described the naming as a major milestone that would distinguish Uganda’s crude from other grades traded internationally.
“Today, Uganda’s crude oil gets its name. This is what will distinguish it from all other crude oils in the world. This is like baptism. Every oil-producing country has a distinct name for its oil,” Otoa said ahead of the ceremony.
Uganda’s crude is widely described as sweet (low sulphur), though technical assessments characterise it as medium-to-heavy and waxy.
A crude oil grade’s identity helps refiners, traders and other buyers distinguish it based on characteristics such as density, sulphur content and refining qualities.
The choice of Pearl Sweet therefore gives Uganda a recognisable name as it prepares to market its crude beyond the country’s borders.
The naming ceremony was held at Kingfisher, one of Uganda’s two major oil development projects alongside the TotalEnergies-operated Tilenga project.
The Kingfisher project, operated by CNOOC Uganda Limited, is designed to produce up to 40,000 barrels of oil per day. Together, Kingfisher and Tilenga are expected to reach a combined peak production of about 230,000 barrels per day.
The crude will be transported from the oilfields through the 1,443-kilometre East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) to the Chongoleani marine terminal near Tanga, Tanzania, from where it will be exported to international markets.
The naming comes as Uganda’s oil infrastructure advances towards production, after more than two decades since commercially viable petroleum resources were discovered in the Albertine Graben.
The government hopes petroleum production will generate export revenues and support wider economic transformation, while the country’s national oil company prepares to participate in the commercialisation of the resource.
With Pearl Sweet now officially named, Uganda’s crude has moved another step closer to becoming a product that global refiners, traders and buyers can identify, price and purchase.
The next major milestone is no longer what Uganda will call its oil, but when the first commercial barrels of Pearl Sweet will begin their journey from the Albertine oilfields to the world market.