AfricaPress-Tanzania: MINISTER for Energy Dr Medard Kalemani has announced that the construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) from Hoima in Uganda to Chongoleani Tanga will begin in March 2021.
Speaking in Dar es Salaam shortly after he met with investor charged with the responsibility of implementing the project- Total East Africa Midstream B.V (Team B.V ), he said the project kick-off date was reached after the negotiations between the contracting companies reached a good stage.
The meeting that was also attended by Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) Managing Director Dr James Mataragio, Dr Kalemani, among other things, said that the completion of the project would bring benefits to the nation, calling for Team B.V to ensure the project was timely completed and if possible before the set timeframe.
“ Prospects are that the construction will be completed within 36 months, but I have directed the stakeholders to make sure they complete it before that time so that the expected work of pumping oil can begin as soon as possible,” said Dr Kalemani.
Earlier the Energy Minister said what had been delaying the construction of the pipeline was failure by contractors to reach final investment decisions on time.
He said having stakeholders reach a new agreement, prospects on project implementation were now high.
“ We have deliberated on the consequences that emanate from the new agreement whereby all shares that belonged to Anglo- Irish firm,Tullow, will now be bought by Total, making the F rench oil company have 66.7 per cent of the project with 33.3 per cent remaining for China National Offshore Oil Corporation CNOOC,” he said.
He said the acquisition will enable Total together with their partner CNOOC, to now move the project toward F inal Investment Decision (FID), driving costs down to deliver a robust long-term project.
As a result, Dr Kalemani called on Total Company and its shareholder to ensure they complete the legal agreement by September to kick start the project in March as planned.
He said besides, the government had negotiated with Total company on plans to continue negotiating a joint venture agreement as well as a transactional agreement to bring the balance of all agreements forward to F ID.
Dr Kalemani said the government had already taken various steps, including compensation assessment work for all people living in the project area, which will run through more than 24 districts, 86 wards and 278 residential localities as well as environmental impact assessments throughout the project.
Total President for Exploration and Production, Arnaud Breuillac, expressed his gratitude to the government through the Ministry of Energy, saying their strategy was to ensure that their agreement on the project was timely completed.
He said the cooperation they had received from the government in the EACOP project gives them the impetus to implement the project by administering national legislation as well as international best practice standards while thanking President John Magufuli for offering that opportunity in the investment area.
He said the construction of a new crude oil pipeline would also open up opportunities for East African countries to attract investors and also lead to a further 60 per cent increase in foreign direct investment in Uganda and Tanzania during the construction period.
