Uganda and Tanzania Sign $20 Billion Energy Hub Deal

The governments of Uganda and Tanzania signed a memorandum of understanding on August 6, 2026, to develop the Tanga Regional Energy Hub in the Tanzanian port city of Tanga. Witnessed by Presidents Yoweri Museveni and Samia Suluhu Hassan, the agreement was signed by the Uganda National Oil Company, the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation, and global energy trader Vitol Bahrain E.C.

The hub will feature a crude oil refinery, a terminal tank farm, a receiving jetty, and a bidirectional multiproduct pipeline connecting Tanga and Uganda. This infrastructure is designed to complement the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) by allowing Ugandan crude oil to be refined in Tanzania and distributed to markets in Tanzania, Uganda, and neighboring inland nations like Rwanda. Tanzanian Energy Minister Deogratius Ndejembi estimated the project could attract over $20 billion in investment.

Uganda currently imports 95% of its petroleum products through Kenya's Port of Mombasa and expects to begin pumping crude oil later this year. Beyond the hub, the two nations are advancing plans for a natural gas pipeline and a 400-kilovolt electricity interconnector, the latter of which has secured $250 million in World Bank financing.