Overview
- President Yoweri Museveni unveiled the name 'Pearl Sweet' at the Kingfisher site on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, a formal step to allow the blend to be quoted, marketed and placed on cargo manifests.
- Kingfisher's central processing facility has reached mechanical completion and is in commissioning and flowback tests, while officials say Tilenga and the 1,443-kilometre heated EACOP pipeline are in advanced stages as Uganda targets first commercial oil by year-end.
- The crude is waxy and low in sulphur and must be kept hot for transport, which is why the EACOP will be heated along its full length and why Kingfisher and feeder systems were built to handle viscous oil.
- Developers and the government stress local jobs, training and a planned 60,000-barrel-per-day refinery at Kabaale as ways to capture value, while partners include TotalEnergies, CNOOC and the Uganda National Oil Company with a 15% state stake.
- Campaigners and courts continue to press environmental and social concerns, citing wells inside Murchison Falls National Park, over 100,000 people displaced, lawsuits against operators and lifetime emissions estimates that critics call a major climate risk.