Uganda Hands over EACOP Construction License

Uganda, through the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, has handed over the license to construct the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) to its the EACOP Company.

The License was granted by the Ministry following the application submitted on 1st July 2022, in compliance and accordance with Section 10 of the Petroleum (Refining, Conversion, Transmission, and Midstream Storage) Act 2013, Regulation 59 of the Petroleum (Refining, Conversion, Transmission, and Midstream Storage) Act 2016, and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline Special Provisions Act 2021 and found satisfactory.

The construction license is required to enable EACOP to formally start on-the-ground construction activities in Uganda as part of the development of the 1,443km, 24-inch diameter insulated and buried crude oil pipeline that will start from Kabaale, Hoima in Uganda to Chongoleani, Tanga in Tanzania.

Speaking at the handover ceremony that was witnessed by President Yoweri Museveni, Mr Martin Tiffen, EACOP Ltd Managing Director, said, “This marks another step forward for EACOP as it allows the commencement of our construction activities in Uganda upon completion of the ongoing land access process.”

He added: “We are grateful to the government of Uganda for the expedited delivery of the application as per the commitment in the Host Government Agreement (HGA) and the continuous support for the implementation of the EACOP project.”

The licensed upstream oil companies are leading the development of this pipeline in Uganda: Total Energies (62% shares), CNOOC Uganda (8%), Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) [15%), and the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) [15%].

The East African Crude Oil Pipeline is a 1,443km crude oil export infrastructure that will transport Uganda’s crude oil from Kabaale – Hoima in Uganda to the Chongoleani peninsula near Tanga in Tanzania for export to the international market.