By Faridah N Kulumba
Africa-Press – Uganda. Recently African Energy recently released a report saying that the word longest East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project is making fast progress after several funding delays, African Energy reported that despite continuing protests from the environmentalist lobby, which is opposing any new oil and gas infrastructure, especially in Africa.
Since Uganda and Tanzania approved the awarding of the construction license of a joint oil pipeline set to transport crude oil from Uganda to the international market, the project started receiving criticism by environmental activists who argued that the project threatens the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people and fragile ecosystems in the hearts of Africa. In November 2024, the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) Appellate Division rejected the request that was made by the government of Tanzania to dismiss an appeal filed by four civil society organizations (CSOs) opposing the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project.
Current state of the EACOPE
According to the project executives and field engineers, the overall progress had reached 65 percent with works underway including pipe bending, stringing, welding, electrical installation and cabling works of the Tilenga feeder pipeline, ahead of trenching in Q4 2025. In August 2025, an earlier report said that EACOP was 64.5 percent completed, with USD 3.6 billion of the project’s investment already utilized and more funding secured. Uganda recently entered into the final 12-month phase of the crude oil pipeline (EACOP), with engineers expecting completion by mid-2026. The pipeline will transport crude from the Albertine Graben to Tanzania’s Tanga port for export, with work advancing on a key 75-kilometre stretch linking the Waiga River to the Kabalega Industrial Park in Hoima.
Challenges due to funds
The 1,443-kilometer pipeline was supposed to cost at USD 5 billion and getting the money was problematic because the usual lenders to such large-scale infrastructure projects, such as the World Bank, refused to provide the money for the EACOP project. This is where other banks stepped up and secured the money that will turn Uganda into an oil exporter at an initial rate of 216,000 barrels daily, later to be ramped up to 246,000 barrels daily, per the plans of the Ugandan government.
Other hurdles
Ever since the president of the Republic of Uganda Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and his Tanzanian counterpart Samia Suluhu Hassan signed agreements to build a vast regional crude oil pipeline the project incensed environmental activists that led the United Nations Parliament to intervene in this matter. The activists argue that it threatens to displace thousands of people and degrades critical ecosystems in the two nations. In July 2024, eight victims of police brutality filed lawsuits at the High Court against the government of Uganda and ten police officers, accusing them of violating human rights. Human rights defenders and environmental activists have accused the authorities of abusing their human rights through illegal arrests and detentions.
In 2023, Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report that was published by the New York-based non-profit on July 10 saying that the world’s longest-planned EACOP meant to export crude from Uganda to international markets has “devastated” the lives of thousands of people. According to HRW, thousands of people who are staying in the areas where the crude oil pipeline is intended to pass have experienced delayed or inadequate compensation for their land. The rights group added that the EACOP project, in which TotalEnergies has a 62 percent stake, is a disaster for the planet as it will add emissions that exacerbate climate change.
Shareholders
EACOP has several shareholders including the French giant TotalEnergies, which is the operator with a 62 percent stake, the national oil companies of Uganda and Tanzania with 15 percent each, and China’s CNOOC with an 8 percent stake in the project. TotalEnergies is also the operator of the Tilenga oil project in Uganda, which will produce the oil to be shipped to Tanzania, along with the Kingfisher project, operated by the Ugandan state oil company. TotalEnergies pledged that EACOP will be one of its lowest-emission projects, with Scope 1 and 2 intensities averaging 12 kg of CO2 equivalent per barrel. Over its lifetime, the combined carbon emissions of Tilenga and EACOP are projected to reach 13.5 million tons, a point meant to reassure critics of its environmental impact. Uganda is expected to debut as an oil exporter with an initial production of 216,000 barrels per day, later rising to 246,000 barrels per day, according to government plans.
All is well on Uganda’s side
In August the government of Uganda finalised an agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based Alpha MBM Investments LLC to develop a 60,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) crude oil refinery in Kabaale, Hoima District. “The oil refinery is not just about fuel but also about Uganda producing and exporting refined products instead of importing them,” Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said. “We must stop exporting raw materials and instead add value to everything we produce.” In January 2024, the final negotiations of the agreement started after Alpha MBM Investments led by a member of Dubai’s royal family was picked by the government of Uganda as the preferred bidder for some of its crude oil. This was after the Albertine Graben Energy Consortium (AGEC) backed out of the deal with Uganda. This followed the government of Uganda terminated negotiations with a consortium that included a unit of United States firm Baker Hughes in July 2023 over its failure to mobilize financing in time. Expressions of interest were received from several potential investors and they were evaluated… following which a MoU was signed
So far, nearly two-thirds of the pipe has been laid, with welding work advancing steadily, and the coating plant in Tanzania fully operational. Official projections still peg the pipeline’s commissioning between late 2025 and early 2026, though delays remain possible. Approximately 6,000 jobs have been created so far, with a substantial share going to local workers, contributing significantly to the national content goals of the regional players involved.
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