Construction of East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline to start in 2021

The Uganda government and TOTAL E&P, the French oil supermajor, have moved rapidly towards common ground on the country’s oilfield project, with both inking an agreement that paves the way for a final investment decision (FID) on the 230,000Barrels of Oil Per Day (BOPD) development.

Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda and Patrick Pouyanné, chairman and CEO of TOTAL, signed the Host Government Agreement (HGA) for the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project. The meeting was held at the Ugandan State House, in Entebbe last Friday, September 11, 2020.

The two parties agreed on the participation of the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) in the EACOP as well as on governance issues around the benefits, to Host Governments from the export pipeline in Uganda. The project is expected to cost the consortium $3.5billion, with construction expected to start early next year, a government statement declared.

The Host Government Agreement aims to ensure that both countries (Uganda and Tanzania) fully benefit from the project in the course of transportation of the crude to the international market. The Host Government Agreement will govern the construction and operation of the crude oil pipeline from Hoima, the Ugandan oil rich district, to Tanja, the Tanzanian port town from which the crude will be exported.

“We now look forward to concluding a similar agreement with the Government of Tanzania and to completing the tendering process for all major engineering, procurement and construction contracts,” said Pierre Jessua, managing director of TOTAL E&P Uganda.

Jessua said the conditions are set for the ramp-up of project activities and in particular, the land acquisition activities in Uganda.

TOTAL E&P Uganda is leading the development activities towards production in the Tilenga project area – Exploration Area1 (EA-1) and Exploration Area2 North (EA-2N) within the Albertine Region.

Source: AFRICA OIL + GAS REPORT