MANDATE AND MAIN GOAL

The mandate of the Petroleum Supply Department and the Midstream Petroleum Unit (MSU) is to promote, regulate and monitor petroleum supply in Uganda in an environmentally safe and sustainable, free and competitive market. The main policy goal of the Department is to meet the petroleum products needs of the Ugandan population for social and economic development.

POLICY FRAMEWORK

The policy governing the downstream petroleum sub-sector is contained in The Energy Policy for Uganda, 2002. In this respect, the key policy objective is “To ensure an adequate, reliable and affordable supply of quality petroleum products for all sectors of the economy at internationally competitive and fair prices within appropriate health, safety and environmental standards”. This contributes directly to the energy policy goal which is “To meet the Energy needs of Uganda’s population for social and economic development in an environmentally sustainable manner,”

REGULATORY FUNCTIONS

The regulatory functions of the Petroleum Supply Department are spelt out in the Petroleum Supply Act, 2003. The Act designates the Minister as the overall regulatory authority for the sub-sector and the Commissioner as the chief technical advisor to the Minister. The Commissioner’s role, however, is read in conjunction with the Permanent Secretary’s advisory role spelt out in the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda.

The key functions of the department are: -

1. Provision of data for use in the preparation of national plans for the petroleum products.
2. Making forecasts of petroleum products requirements in the country, and working out strategies the requirements
3. Monitoring and advising on petroleum supplies to ensure sufficiency and availability.

Monitoring and guiding the activities of oil companies to ensure compliance, with national policies oil reserves board and the national energy regulation board.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

The specific objectives are: -

1. To ensure that petroleum supply in Uganda is adequate, reliable, efficient and economical for the country and the consumers according by the prevailing conditions at any given time.
2. To strengthen the institutional capacity of the government in order to better formulate and implement petroleum supply policies.
3. To improve petroleum governance by clarifying the functions of institutions responsible for petroleum supply and to make the operations of those institutions more accountable and transparent.
4. To ensure public safety and protection of public health and the environment in all petroleum supply operations and installations.
5. To ensure effective delivery of petroleum products and services to consumers and to ensure equal access to petroleum products of adequate quality at competitive prices for all consumers.
6. To encourage and promote fair competition within the petroleum supply market, to eliminate discrimination or preferential treatment of any participant and to prevent monopolistic control of any segment of the supply chain.
7. To create favorable conditions for operators and investors in order to increase the diversification of the sources of supply, to improve services and to expand the infrastructure of the supply chain.
8. To ensure a steady supply of petroleum products by the development and maintenance of national strategic stocks.