Uganda will begin blending ethanol and petrol in January

The energy ministry announced on Tuesday that Uganda will begin requiring fuel distributors to mix locally produced ethanol with all petrol sold within the country in January next year. This could help reduce the nation's oil import bill.

Uganda imports petroleum products worth about $2 billion annually. In 2023, it gave exclusive rights to supply all these products to an energy trading unit of the global energy company Vitol.

In a press release, the Ministry of Energy said that the blending program is part of a government initiative to promote clean energy. Bioethanol can also help reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Ethanol, which is mainly made from molasses (a by-product of sugar production), is part of the government's policy to promote clean energy.

The ministry has said that it will gradually increase the percentage to 20%, "based on the availability of supplies".

Uganda, a landlocked country in the Indian Ocean, expects to begin pumping crude oil commercially next year. It hopes to export it through a pipeline via a port along Tanzania's coast. (Reporting and editing by George Obulutsa, Emelia Sithole Matarise)

(source: Reuters)