A signing ceremony for the development of the Lake Albert project was concluded on April 11th 2021, and final agreements have been reached. The ceremony was witnessed by the President of the Republic of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Samia Suluhu Hassan, the Chairman and CEO of Total, Patrick Pouyanné, and representatives of China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) and Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC).
The concluded agreements included the Shareholders’ Agreement of EACOP and the Tariff and Transportation Agreement between EACOP and the Lake Albert oil shippers. The agreement will allow the commencement of the Lake Albert development project.
The main engineering, procurement and construction contracts will be awarded shortly, and construction will start, with the first oil export planned for early 2025.
The project consists of Tilenga and Kingfisher upstream oil projects in Uganda and the construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) in Uganda and Tanzania. The Tilenga project is operated by Total and the Kingfisher project is operated by CNOOC. Both are expected to deliver a combined production of 230,000 barrels per day at a plateau.
The upstream partners are Total (56.67%), CNOOC (28.33%) and UNOC (15%). The production will be transported from the oilfields in Uganda to the port of Tanga in Tanzania via EACOP cross-border pipeline, with Total, UNOC, TPDC and CNOOC as shareholders.
According to Total, “all the partners are committed to implement these projects in an exemplary manner and taking into highest consideration the biodiversity and environmental stakes as well as the local communities’ rights and within the stringent environmental and social performance standards of the International Finance Corporation (IFC).”
The CEO of Total said: “The Tilenga development and EACOP pipeline project are major projects for Total and are consistent with our strategy to focus on low breakeven oil projects while lowering the average carbon intensity of the Group’s upstream portfolio. These projects will create significant in-country value for both Uganda and Tanzania. Total is also taking into the highest consideration the sensitive environmental context and social stakes of these onshore projects. Our commitment is to implement these projects in an exemplary and fully transparent manner.”
