Uganda’s fuel supply still stable, says minister Nankabirwa

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Energy minister Ruth Nankabirwa has said Uganda’s fuel supply remains stable despite the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran.

Iran sent shockwaves across the world by effectively closing the channel after the US and Israel began launching strikes on it on February 28, 2026.

About 20% of global oil and gas flows through this waterway, which lies between Iran and the northernmost tip of Oman, linking the Persian Gulf with the Arabian Sea.

“Uganda is still stable in as far as (petroleum) products are concerned. As I speak now, we have in stock about 21 days for diesel and 26 days for petrol and for jet, we are good to go for 40 days,” Nankabirwa told the country on Wednesday (March 25).

The minister also revealed plans for next month.

“We have plans for April where ships are on the way coming from different parts of the world, away from the problematic Strait of Hormuz, and we have no doubt that we shall have our stocks that will take us for 60 days for jet fuel, for example,” she said.

Nankabirwa also noted that they were expecting about 283 million litres of petrol and about 183 million litres of diesel, which will last for about 30 days.

She said oil marketing companies have “no basis or reason to increase prices for any reason whatsoever as supply is still the same”.

“We are closely watching and monitoring companies that want to take advantage of this situation and exploit Ugandans,” she said.

She informed the country that the Uganda National Oil Company Limited (UNOC) took “a very good decision” guided by the President to ensure that it gets a partner with the capacity to source from different suppliers.

UNOC is a limited liability company wholly owned by the Government of Uganda, mandated to handle the government’s commercial interests in the petroleum sector and ensure the resource is exploited sustainably.

In October 2023, the government mandated UNOC to source and supply petroleum products after it negotiated and signed a five-year supply partnership contract with Vitol Bahrain E.C in August that year.

Under the agreement, Vitol finances the business by providing a working capital facility backed by its global balance sheet and works with UNOC to ensure competitive pricing of petroleum products.

In addition, the partnership has ensured buffer stocks in Uganda and Tanzania that can be called upon in case of shortages.

Vitol Bahrain E.C also committed to finance the construction of additional storage capacity of 320 million litres in partnership with UNOC at Namwambula in Mpigi district.