RIYADH: Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday after industry data showed a larger-than-expected drawdown of US inventories, signaling robust demand from the world’s biggest oil consumer, but the gains were limited by worries over interest rate hikes. Brent crude futures rose 43 cents, or 0.60 percent, to $72.69 a barrel at 09:28 a.m. Saudi time, while US West Texas Intermediate futures gained 40 cents, or 0.59 percent, to $68.10 a barrel. Both contracts had fallen by about 2.5 percent in the previous session on signals that central banks may not be done with interest rate hikes. Recent data from the American Petroleum Institute has suggested that crude stocks fell by about 2.4 million barrels in the week ended June 23. Uganda expects to start oil production from Tilenga project in 2025 Uganda National Oil Co. expects to start oil production from the Tilenga project in the first half of 2025, the company’s CEO said on Wednesday. “The drill kits have been put up and the drilling has started,” Proscovia Nabbanja told Reuters on the sidelines of the Energy Asia conference. “We are on track for first oil in H1 2025.” The Tilenga project, in the Buliisa and Nwoya districts in Uganda’s Lake Albert oilfields, is operated by French energy major TotalEnergies in partnership with China’s CNOOC Ltd. and UNOC. Oil from the Tilenga project will be transported via the $3.5 billion East African Crude Oil Pipeline to the port of Tanga in Tanzania for export. The EACOP has the capacity to send up to 246,000 barrels of crude per day out to world markets by as early as 2025. TotalEnergies is the largest shareholder in EACOP with a 62 percent stake. Other investors include the state-run UNOC and Tanzania Petroleum Development Corp., which have 15 percent each, while China’s CNOOC holds 8 percent. Mexico’s CFE and ESENTIA sign $300m memorandum for gas project Mexican state power utility Comision Federal de Electricidad said on Tuesday it had signed a memorandum of understanding with ESENTIA Energy Systems to develop natural gas infrastructure with a $300 million investment. The agreement was signed on June 20 and aims to optimize existing pipelines and include new natural gas delivery points to serve CFE power plants and communities, the Mexican state power firm said in a statement. “The agreement will also allow both parties to put an end to various pre-existing legal disputes,” the power firm added. (With input from Reuters)