Pearl Sweet: President Museveni officially names Uganda's Crude Oil

President Yoweri Museveni has officially named Uganda’s crude oil “Pearl Sweet Petroleum”, giving the country’s petroleum a distinct identity as Uganda prepares for commercial production.

Museveni announced the name on September 2, 2026, during a ceremony at the Kingfisher Development Area in Kikuube District, where he also inspected progress towards first oil.

The President described the ceremony as the “christening” of Uganda’s oil after years of exploration, investment and training Ugandans to participate in the industry.

“Whatever you sow is what you reap. Now we are here to christen our baby,” Museveni said.

“These people have told me that we name it ‘Pearl Sweet Petroleum’.”

Museveni said he initially questioned why the word “sweet” was included in the name.

“I asked them, does the petroleum contain sugar? Batebe (Irene Batebe, the PS Ministry of Energy) taught me that we call it sweet because it does not contain Sulphur, which is hard to extract,” he said.

In the oil industry, crude with low sulphur content is commonly described as “sweet”. Uganda's crude is also known for its waxy properties.

Addressing the guests, the president expressed optimism about Uganda’s oil sector, noting that more discoveries are anticipated 

Museveni said the petroleum resources discovered in the Lake Albert Basin represent only part of Uganda’s potential.

“This oil is just 40% (the 6.5 billion) here and at Tilenga of the Lake Albert Basin. We still have 60% of this basin to explore,” he said.

“We still have the Karamoja basin, Lake Kyoga basin, and Kiboga.”

The President also warned against using future oil revenues to finance consumption and imports. He said the government would prioritise long-term infrastructure and investments that benefit future generations.

“The money we shall earn, please don't expect to import more perfume, wines and cars. The money will be used to do durable things. To build hydropower stations, the railway and other durable things that will be there for our grandchildren and great-grandchildren,” Museveni said.

The naming comes as Uganda moves closer to becoming an oil-producing country.

Kingfisher, operated by CNOOC Uganda, is one of the country's two main upstream oil projects alongside Tilenga. Kingfisher is designed to produce about 40,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

Combined production from the two projects is expected to reach about 230,000 barrels per day at peak production.

The crude destined for export will be transported from the Lake Albert oilfields to Tanzania's Indian Ocean coast through the East African Crude Oil Pipeline.