Almost 70% of East Africa’s oil pipeline is ready, Uganda now
says
Construction of the 1,443-kilometer East African Crude Oil
Pipeline (EACOP) is nearing the 70% mark, a critical milestone that must be
reached before production can begin at the region’s $15 billion oil project
owned by France’s TotalEnergies and China’s CNOOC.
“Optimal exploitation of sectoral linkages could generate up
to $8 billion in GDP growth before First Oil, ensuring the oil and gas sector
delivers value to all Ugandans,” said Ernest Rubondo, executive director of the
Petroleum Authority of Uganda.
EACOP will connect Uganda’s oilfields to Tanzania’s Indian
Ocean port of Tanga and is set to become the world’s longest electrically
heated crude oil pipeline.
Uganda’s petroleum resources have also risen—from 6.5
billion to 6.65 billion barrels in total resources, and from 1.4
billion to 1.65 billion barrels of recoverable resources—thanks to
improved understanding of discoveries in the Albertine Graben, according to the
government.
The petroleum sector is expected to receive more than $4
billion in investment between 2025 and 2027, primarily targeting the
Kingfisher and Tilenga fields as preparations for production accelerate,
Rubondo said.
Development work continues to advance: drilling and related
activities at the Tilenga project are now 60% complete, while the
Kingfisher project has reached 74% completion ahead of the start of
crude production, he added.
