Following the favourable evaluation of its private sector-led offer by the Uganda Government, the Albertine Graben Refinery Consortium (AGRC) comprised of YAATRA Ventures (www.YAATRAVentures.com), Baker Hughes, a GE company (www.BHGE.com), LionWorks Group (http://LionWorksCapital.com) and Saipem (www.Saipem.com), signed a project framework agreement confirming its selection for the realization of a 60,000 barrels per day capacity refinery with a project estimated value of around $3 billion.

YAATRA Africa is an infrastructure development and financing company which provides innovative infrastructure solutions on the continent. LionWorks is a private equity company focused exclusively on pan-African infrastructure opportunities. Other companies involved are Saipem, a global leader in engineering, procurement, construction and installation, as well as drilling, in the oil and gas market that will act as services provider to the project investors, and BHGE, the only global Fullstream company, which will provide a comprehensive portfolio of equipment, technical and financial services.

The refinery, to be located in Hoima district, will process crude oil from fields developed by Total, Tullow and China’s CNOOC and future upstream operators. The Ugandan government has included in the project scope a refined-product pipeline to Kampala for transporting finished products from the facility as well as the distribution of refined products.

 “The Ugandan Government’s commitment to fully realize its oil and gas sector and acceptance of the innovative solution provided by AGRC is driven by its strategic goals, leading to achieving middle income status. We look forward to the execution phase and delivering a world class facility that represents a unique opportunity for investors. The Project will deliver a broad, significant economic development impact for Uganda and the East Africa region.” Rajakumari Jandhyala, President & CEO, YAATRA Ventures, said.

“The Government’s selection of our Consortium as preferred bidder is a testament to the collaborative efforts of these best-in-class enterprises leveraging each other’s strengths to produce a solutions-focused proposal. When executed, this will help develop the industry infrastructure and provide livelihood for the Ugandan people and, by extension, other East African countries” said Ado Oseragbaje, BHGE’s Vice President, Sub-Saharan Africa.

Ronald Mincy, CEO & Managing Partner of LionWorks, commented “This is a unique opportunity to work with Uganda on a transformational project that will provide jobs and skills to the country through improved access to substantially cleaner refined products for Uganda and the East Africa region.”

Maurizio Coratella, Saipem E&C Onshore Division Chief Operating Officer said, “The selection of AGRC will allow the development of a robust proposal leveraging both financial capabilities of YAATRA Africa and LionWorks and the technical resources and expertise of Saipem and BHGE, addressing the Government’s expectations for the growth of the energy sector. We are pleased to have been selected to help Uganda delivering this Project.”

Today’s announcement follows the formal announcement of the Ministry of Energy regarding the conclusion of the PFA agreement. The Albertine Graben Refinery Consortium will have each member undertake a specific role during Pre-Final Investment Decision (Pre-FID) Activities and Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) of the refinery.