The world’s longest heated oil pipeline is about 74.5% complete, Taarifa has established.
Known as the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, valued at over U$4 Billion, it stretches 1,443Km from Uganda to port Tanga in Tanzania.
Construction of this ambitious project began in 2023, and oil exports will start in 2027.
The shareholders in EACOP are affiliates of the three Upstream joint venture partners (the Uganda National Oil Company, TotalEnergies EP Uganda and CNOOC Uganda) together with the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation.
Shareholdings are TotalEnergies 62%, UNOC and TPDC 15% each and CNOOC 8%.
Meanwhile, key oilfields Tilenga and Kingfisher are nearing completion, with peak production estimated at 200,000 barrels per day generating U$1–2.5 billion annually, around 9% of government revenue.
According to Ernest Rubondo, chief executive of the Uganda Petroleum Authority, works at Tilenga and Kingfisher are now 60% and 74% complete respectively, part of a broader U$4 billion investment wave aimed at preparing the sector for full production before 2027.
However, in 2020 four non governmental organizations filed a court case against construction of the pipeline.
This year the Appeals Division of East African Court of Justice threw out the case, reaffirming the decision made by EACJ’s First Instance Division in November 2023.
Ground of case
The suit was filed in November 2020 by four CSOs: Africa Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO), Centre for Food and Adequate Living Rights (CEFROHT) from Uganda, Natural Justice (NJ) from Kenya, and the Centre for Strategic Litigation (CSL) from Tanzania.
The CSOs sought a permanent injunction to halt the construction of the pipeline in protected areas in Uganda and Tanzania, compensation for all project-affected persons (PAPs) for losses incurred due to land use restrictions.
The First Instance Division dismissed the case in November 2023, prompting the CSOs to immediately file an appeal in December 2023.
This appeal was subsequently heard in Arusha and Kigali, Rwanda, in November 2024 and February 2025, respectively.
