It has been slow-going for one of the biggest projects in East Africa, a 1443-kilometre pipeline from Kabaale in the Hoima district in Uganda to the Port of Tanga in Tanzania.Following the signing of the $10-billion final investment decision in February this year, the project is finally getting closer to construction after years of controversy.According to Martin Tiffen, managing director of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), they are now concluding the process of awarding all the main contracts required for construction works to begin. Land acquisition processes for the main right of way in Uganda and Tanzania are also under way.“During the course of 2022, the project’s focus will be on land acquisition along with the detailed engineering, procurement and preparation works for main construction,” said Tiffen, indicating that they were hoping to break ground in 2023.This Lake Albert development encompasses the Tilenga and Kingfisher upstream oil projects in Uganda and the construction of the pipeline. The Tilenga project, operated by TotalEnergies, and the Kingfisher project, operated by CNOOC, are expected to start producing in 2025 and to reach a cumulative plateau production of 230 000 barrels per day.The project has, however, faced stiff opposition from local communities, climate and environment groups who claim the oil extraction and planned pipeline pose serious environmental risk. The governments of both Uganda and Tanzania have, however, maintained that the construction of the pipeline will benefit their economies and enhance the trade corridor between Uganda and Tanzania significantly through the development of new infrastructure, logistics, and technology transfers, while improving the livelihoods of the many communities that live along the route.In a recent statement Patrick Pouyanné, chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies, said they were fully aware of the important social and environmental challenges the project represented, and the ambition was to make it an exemplary project in terms of shared prosperity and sustainable development.“We will pay particular attention to use local skills, to develop them through training programmes, and to boost the local industrial sector in order to maximise the positive local return of this project," he said.
