The Ugandan Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Dr Mary Goretti Kitutu, has confirmed that the construction of the 1,445-kilometre East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) is to commence in the first half of next year.
Dr Kitutu made this known during an online oil conference held on Wednesday, 18th November 2020. A Final Investment Decision (FID) and the commencement of the project are to take place by the end of June 2021.
The EACOP, otherwise known as the Uganda-Tanzania crude oil pipeline, stretches from Hoima in Uganda to the Tanga port in Tanzania. The construction is to be completed in three years. The pipeline is to export 216,000 barrels a day at peak production.
French giants, Total, controls about two-thirds of Uganda’s oil discoveries and is also a majority stakeholder in the pipeline project alongside its Chinese partners, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).
Last month, Total E&P signed a separate Host Government Agreement (HGA) for the proposed East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) with the Tanzanian government, which it described as “an important milestone towards implementation of EACOP.” The signed agreement is key to the commencement of the construction of the crude oil pipeline from Uganda to the Tanga port in Tanzania as it highlights the rights and obligations of the government, the duties of the investors, the environmental and other relevant standards, liability, legal framework, arbitration and closure of the project.
