Tanzania offers to buy stake in Uganda’s oil refinery

Tanzania wants an 8 per cent stake in Uganda’s planned oil refinery, a Ugandan minister said on Friday, a move that could be designed to boost Tanzania’s bid to secure a pipeline route for Ugandan crude over a rival pitch by Kenya.

Uganda has been discussing plans for a refinery for about seven years. It would process some oil from fields it is developing, although most crude would be exported. Kenya, with its own oil fields under development, wants a joint pipeline. But Uganda, which initially said it had picked the Kenyan route, has since said it would pursue a pipeline through Tanzania. Nairobi has been pushing for Kampala to switch its plans.