Tanzania, March 22 -- Uganda National Oil Company (Unoc) has started selling petroleum products to oil marketing firms in Tanzania and Uganda as it tests the market ahead of rolling out a direct import deal with Vitol Bahrain.

Read: Uganda in talks to import all its oil via Tanzania after dispute with Kenya

Officials of oil companies who spoke to this publication say that Unoc has offered products to their subsidiaries in the two countries in small quantities.

Unoc is set to start directly importing from Vitol Bahrain under a five-year deal, as Uganda moves to end decades of relying on Kenyan oil marketing companies (OMCs) for supply of fuel.

Uganda and Kenya fell out after Nairobi inked a government-backed deal to import fuel on cred...