Africa-Press – Uganda. The Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) has confirmed that the country is experiencing temporary disruptions in the supply of petroleum products, a situation that has contributed to a noticeable rise in retail fuel prices, particularly for gasoline.
According to a statement released on Tuesday, UNOC attributed the disruptions to logistical delays in the delivery of fuel products through Kenya during May 2025.
As a result, the average pump price of gasoline in Kampala has increased to approximately Shs 5,000 per litre, up from Shs 4,700 in December 2024.
To ensure continued supply and minimize shortages, UNOC said it turned to Tanzania for emergency deliveries. “We imported approximately 35 million litres of petroleum products via Tanzania.
This helped maintain product flow, although the longer transit route and additional transportation costs had a marginal impact on pump prices,” the company noted in its press release.
Despite the higher costs, the government-owned oil company reassured the public that the situation is under control. By Monday, June 2, more than 90 million litres of petroleum products had been made available in the Kenya Pipeline system for use by Ugandan Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), with 53 million litres of gasoline already being loaded for delivery.
Looking ahead, UNOC expects a further 200 million litres of petroleum products including gasoline, diesel, and Jet A-1to arrive in the pipeline and become accessible to OMCs by the weekend of June 6–8.
“The steady inflow of petroleum products, coupled with the recent drop in global Platts prices and a favorable exchange rate, is expected to normalise the supply chain and ease pressure on pump prices in the coming days,” UNOC stated.
The company also emphasised its new role as Uganda’s sole importer of petroleum products, a responsibility it assumed after the Petroleum Supply (Amendment) Act, 2023 came into effect.
UNOC made its first petroleum import in July 2024 via the Port of Mombasa, with MT Navig8 Martinez delivering 58,000 metric tons of gasoline and MT Sinbad bringing 80,000 metric tons of diesel.
While motorists continue to feel the pinch of higher prices at the pump, UNOC remains optimistic that the recent interventions will restore supply stability and help return prices to manageable levels.
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