During a late June visit to a construction site for the 1,443 km East African crude oil pipeline, Tanzania’s Energy Minister Deogratius Ndejembi instructed national utility Tanzania Electric Supply Co. Ltd. to ensure power lines were extended to the megaproject that will transport crude oil from Hoima, Uganda to an Indian Ocean export terminal in Tenga, Tanzania.
The minister identified the electrical connection as one of the final challenges facing the $5.6 billion oil pipeline that will be the largest in the world to be heated by electricity. He said final mechanical construction and hydraulic testing would be completed in the second half of 2026 and the first oil would be delivered to the Chongoleani export terminal in January.
To keep Uganda’s highly viscous oil moving, the entire 24-in. The pipe shall be continuously insulated and maintained at a temperature of 122°F using a specialized electric trace heating system. The pipeline is slated to carry up to 230,000 barrels per day, with plans to also power most of the pipeline operations with solar energy.
Uganda Petroleum Authority Director General Ernest Rubondo has described the line as “the backbone of Uganda’s crude oil exports and a key engine for economic transformation”. An estimated 6.5 billion barrels of oil reserves were discovered in 2006 in two fields near and below Lake Albert in western Uganda. The infrastructure to develop the Tilenga and Kingfisher oil fields is being built in conjunction with the pipeline.
The development of the project is led by France-based TotalEnergies, which has a 62% stake. Uganda National Oil Co. and Tanzania Petroleum Development Corp. they each have 15% and China National Offshore Oil Corp. has an 8% stake.
The engineering, procurement and construction contract was awarded in 2022 to a joint venture of Australia-based Worley Lid. and China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering. The development of the project involved the creation of what Ndejembi said were about 10,000 jobs
The pipeline will cross wetlands, rivers and numerous protected ecosystems such as Murchison Falls National Park, the latter considered a significant refuge for wildlife in Africa.
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Although the original pipeline development plan called for 60% of the financing to come from bank loans and 40% from shareholders, they have actually provided 90% of the financing, as dozens of commercial banks refused to finance the project directly due to environmental, social and climate risks, according to opponents and media reports.
International environmental action groups and climate scientists cite the project as a “carbon bomb” that will release more than 379 million tons of CO2 over its lifetime. A June 25 report in Yale Environment 360, an independent nonprofit publication of the Yale University School of the Environment, cited energy engineering experts to note a myriad of environmental impacts, with a defense of TotalEnergies.
Several court cases brought against the project and TotalEnergies have been dismissed on technicalities, but further legal challenges are likely, including in London, where EACOP Ltd is registered.
