Construction of the 1,443-kilometre East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) has reached 91 percent completion, bringing Uganda and Tanzania closer to the long-awaited first oil milestone before the end of the year, the government has said.
The East African Crude Oil Pipeline is a heated, insulated, and buried cross-border export pipeline designed to transport Uganda’s waxy crude oil from Kabaale in Hoima District to the Chongoleani Marine Storage Terminal near Tanga Port in Tanzania for export to international markets.
Of the pipeline’s total length, 296 kilometres are located in Uganda, while 1,147 kilometres run through Tanzania. The 24-inch pipeline is buried approximately one metre below the surface to ensure safety, security, and temperature control required for transporting Uganda’s naturally waxy crude.
Speaking on Wednesday during a visit by a delegation of judicial officers led by Chief Justice Flavian Zeija and the Governor of the Bank of Uganda, Dr. Michael Atingi-Ego, at EACOP Pump Station One in Kabaale Sub-county, Hoima District, EACOP Deputy Managing Director John Bosco Habumugisha said overall construction progress now stands at 91 percent.
He said the project could have reached about 94 percent completion were it not for external disruptions that affected construction schedules and the global supply chain.
‘In terms of overall completion, we are now at 91 percent. We could have been at about 94 percent, but several external factors affected project implementation. Nevertheless, the project remains on track, and we are optimistic that by the end of the year we shall have completed the remaining works and be ready for First Oil,’ Habumugisha said.
According to Habumugisha, the conflict in the Middle East disrupted the movement of critical project equipment and materials, forcing the project to reroute cargo that had been destined through Dubai to alternative ports in Oman, resulting in delays.
He added that international travel restrictions during the Ebola outbreak also slowed the deployment of specialised personnel required for various phases of the project.
‘The conflict in the Middle East affected our logistics because some of our cargo was held in Dubai, forcing us to divert shipments through Oman, which caused delays. The Ebola outbreak also affected us because flights from some countries were suspended, making it difficult for technical experts to travel and support project implementation,’ he explained.
Pump Station One at 83 Percent Completion
Habumugisha revealed that Pump Station One, the first pumping facility along the export pipeline located in Hoima District, has reached 83 percent completion.
He explained that the facility is a shared infrastructure hub serving several upstream oil developments.
The station receives crude oil from the Kingfisher Development Area, operated by CNOOC Uganda Limited, and the Tilenga Project, operated by TotalEnergies EP Uganda, before feeding it into the EACOP export pipeline.
He noted that because the infrastructure serves multiple operators, its management is governed by detailed commercial and operational agreements.
‘Pump Station One is now 83 percent complete. It is a shared facility where crude from the Kingfisher and Tilenga developments converges before entering the EACOP export system. Since it serves multiple operators, its operations are governed by comprehensive legal and commercial agreements,’ Habumugisha said.
Chief Justice Impressed by Progress
Chief Justice Flavian Zeija described the developments in Uganda’s oil and gas sector as impressive, saying the country is now visibly prepared for oil production.
Having toured facilities in the Albertine Graben, Zeija said the completed production wells and ongoing infrastructure demonstrate that Uganda is steadily progressing towards commercial oil production.
‘This is a significant national investment. From what I have seen, the production wells are already completed, and the infrastructure is taking shape. The country is clearly moving closer to First Oil,’ he said.
The Chief Justice also dismissed claims circulating on social media that Uganda has no commercially viable oil reserves or that the country’s oil resources had been stolen.
‘There has been a lot of misinformation on social media suggesting that Uganda has no oil or that the oil was stolen. What we have witnessed here clearly demonstrates that these claims are false,’ Zeija said.
The Governor of the Bank of Uganda, Dr. Michael Atingi-Ego, applauded the pace of work on the country’s strategic petroleum infrastructure, describing the progress as encouraging.
‘Thank you for the excellent work being done. I am very impressed by the progress that has been made on this important national project,’ he said.
The delegation later toured Kabalega International Airport, which is expected to support Uganda’s oil and gas operations, before visiting the Kingfisher Oil Field, one of the country’s two major upstream petroleum development projects in the Albertine Graben on Thursday.