Uganda, Tanzania, Zanzibar partner to promote oil and gas sector’s growth
Left - Right: PURA Chairman Mr Halfani Halfani, PAU Board Chairperson Ms Lynda Biribonwa, and ZPRA Managing Director Mr Mohammed S. Said exchange documents after signing an MoU on June 17, 2025, in Entebbe. Photo/Courtesy
What you need to know:
- Ms Biribonwa said the MoU will help formalise collaboration in specific priority areas, including health, safety and environment, cost management and monitoring, national content promotion, and capacity building.
As Uganda prepares to deliver its first oil by 2026, the country has is working on regional cooperation with Tanzania and Zanzibar to strengthen the oil and gas sector across East Africa.
The Board Chairperson of the Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU), Ms Lynda Biribonwa, revealed that a tripartite partnership between the three nations' regulatory bodies will drive sectoral growth through knowledge sharing and technical collaboration.
“There’s a lot we can learn from each other. The sector is very competitive, highly technical, and capital-intensive. But we’ve realised there’s also a lot we can borrow from one another, both as institutions and countries,” Ms Biribonwa said.
She made the remarks on Tuesday in Entebbe during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tanzania’s Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority (PURA) and the Zanzibar Petroleum (Upstream) Regulatory Authority (ZPRA).
Ms Biribonwa said the MoU will help formalise collaboration in specific priority areas, including health, safety and environment, cost management and monitoring, national content promotion, and capacity building.
“The relationship already exists within the East African Community. But specifically for the oil and gas sector, we felt it was necessary to formalise it, so we can focus our efforts where they’re most impactful,” she added.
Mr Halfani Halfani, Board Chairperson of Tanzania’s PURA, stressed the importance of institutional cooperation for better resource management during the sector’s critical development phase.
“Collaboration between our three institutions, Zanzibar, the Mainland, and Uganda, is essential. We share synergies, and it’s timely that we formalise what has long been an informal relationship so that it becomes sustainable,” Mr Halfani said.
He noted that harmonising strategies will enhance the region’s attractiveness to investors. “By putting our heads together, we make our region more competitive as an investment destination. This will support not just current projects but future developments as well.”
ZPRA Managing Director Mohammed S. Said also welcomed the agreement, calling it an opportunity to streamline operations and learn from each other’s experiences.
“There are issues that emerge in one country and later in another. Last year, we issued our first license in Zanzibar. Established nations are now coming to observe how we’re managing this process,” Mr Said noted.
“You may think you’re doing well, but looking outside helps. PAU and PURA can learn from our mistakes and strengths, just as we can from theirs,” he added.
The agreement is expected to deepen regional integration and position East Africa as a strategic player in the global oil and gas industry.
