Uganda names its crude oil Pearl Sweet ahead of production

Uganda ​on Wednesday named its blended crude ‌oil ​grade "Pearl Sweet", a key step ahead of the East African country's planned start of commercial oil production by the end of ‌this year.

Uganda discovered commercial crude reserves two decades ago in fields along the Albertine rift basin on its border with Democratic Republic of Congo. Commercial production has been repeatedly delayed by a ‌lack of infrastructure and disagreements between the government and international oil companies over development plans.

President Yoweri ‌Museveni unveiled the name at a ceremony in Kikuube district, about 250 km (155 miles) west of the capital Kampala. He said "Sweet" refers to the crude's low sulphur content, while "Pearl" is drawn from Uganda's description as the "Pearl of Africa", ⁠a ​phrase popularised by former ⁠British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

After the naming, companies developing the fields will begin "outreach to different refineries, market intelligence activities ⁠and commercial negotiations with interested parties," state-owned oil firm UNOC said in a statement. Uganda's recoverable oil ​reserves are estimated at 1.65 billion barrels, with peak production expected to reach 230,000 barrels ⁠per day.

France's TotalEnergies is the majority owner of the fields with a 56.67% stake, while its partner, China's ⁠CNOOC , ​holds 28.33%. UNOC owns the rest. Pearl Sweet crude will be exported through the $5 billion East African Crude Oil Pipeline, a 1,443-km (897-mile) link from Uganda's oilfields to the Tanzanian ⁠port of Tanga on the Indian Ocean coast. The pipeline is billed as the world's longest electrically ⁠heated crude oil ⁠pipeline.

Pearl Sweet broadly matches the characteristics of similar waxy and sweet blends like Chad's Doba and South Sudan and Sudan's Nile and Dar ‌crudes, UNOC ‌said.