APPEC: Uganda to price Pearl Sweet crude against Dated Brent; first cargo due by end-2026

Uganda expects to price its newly named Pearl Sweet crude oil against Platts Dated Brent when exports begin in late 2026, officials with the Uganda National Oil Co. said Sept. 8 at APPEC 2026 in Singapore.

"The grade will be priced against Dated Brent ... and the first shipment is expected to load in December 2026 into a Suezmax," Edith Tushabe, head of commercial and business development at UNOC, told Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, on the sidelines of a joint press conference about the new crude.

Tushabe said that discounts against Dated Brent will be offered during the first three months of marketing, but are expected to be negligible. "That is dependent on price discovery," UNOC CEO Proscovia Nabbanja said.

Platts Dated Brent is the benchmark assessment of the spot value of physical North Sea crude cargoes with specified loading dates, serving as the world's leading reference price for internationally traded crude oil.

Pearl Sweet will have a gravity of 28-31 API and low sulfur content, according to UNOC. The crude's quality could make it attractive to refiners in China and Malaysia and invite comparisons with South Sudan's Nile Blend, Platts reported earlier.

South Sudan's Dar Blend and Nile Blend are typically priced at discounts to the Asia Dated Brent strip, although both moved to premiums in April and May as Middle East tensions boosted demand for alternative crude grades.

Platts assessed Nile Blend crude at a discount of $3.95/barrel to Dated Brent on Sept. 7.

Nabbanja said UNOC has yet to decide what proportion of production will be sold through spot tenders versus longer-term contracts.

Marketing to Asia

Ugandan Minister of Energy and Mineral Development Monica Musenero said the crude would also be suitable for producing very low sulfur fuel oil.

"[The grade] is ideally suited to the Asian refining demand ... there will be lots of flexibility, the reliability to hit timing windows for the Asian market," said Tom Baker, managing director of Vitol Bahrain, during a special update on Uganda's first oil and opportunities for the Asian market at APPEC.

Uganda has appointed Vitol to market Pearl Sweet crude, Platts previously reported.

"The crude looks great in terms of its sulfur content, but the yields of light ends like naphtha are a bit low," a source at a state-owned refinery in South China with an ethylene plant said.

A Beijing-based crude procurement strategist said, "This is likely one of Africa's largest crude grades by production, with volumes comparable to Djeno. Given its high pour point, it is well suited for refiners in Guangdong [province in Southern China] and Southeast Asia, particularly for producing LSFO or low-sulfur petcoke."

Meanwhile, Pearl Sweet's very high wax content means refiners need special units to run the crude, which is solid anywhere below its pour point of 38 C, according to refining sources.

Production outlook

Uganda expects peak crude production of 230,000 barrels/day within three to five years, with all output initially available for export before the country's planned refinery starts operations, Tushabe said.

Uganda is targeting a final investment decision in the first quarter of 2027 for its proposed $4 billion, 60,000 b/d refinery in Hoima.

Pearl Sweet, a medium-to-heavy sweet crude with a high conversion yield profile, will be produced from the Tilenga and Kingfisher developments. The projects are expected to reach a combined production of up to 230,000 b/d, with crude transported via the 240,000 b/d East African Crude Oil Pipeline to Tanzania's Port of Tanga.

UNOC holds a 15% stake in both the Kingfisher and Tilenga projects. TotalEnergies owns 56.67%, while China's CNOOC holds the remaining interest. TotalEnergies also holds a 62% stake in EACOP, with UNOC and Tanzania Petroleum Development Corp. each holding 15% and CNOOC 8%.