Uganda receives key shipment for its oil project

Uganda receives its first batch of line pipes for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (Eacop).
The project remains on track to meet its construction and operational timelines.
The Eacop is aiming to begin operations and export crude oil by the end of next year.

The delivery of the coated line pipes suggest that Uganda is intent on keeping to the Eacop 2026 target date to fully begin operations.

As seen in the East African, the coating factory in Nzenga, Tanzania's Tabora Region, transported nine trucks of insulated line pipe to China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Co. Ltd (CPP), the Eacop construction contractor.

A statement from Eacop Ltd, CPP disclosed that the pipeline construction in Uganda with the delivery of the insulated line pipes would fast track the completion of the project as the developers race against time to export the first barrels of crude oil by the end of next year.

“The project remains on track to meet its construction and operational timelines, with a continued focus on safety, environmental sustainability, and local community engagement,” it said.

With the delivery of the coated pipes, Ali Ssekatawa, Director of Legal and Corporate Affairs at the Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU), stated that all hands are on deck to ensure ongoing progress on the project.

“This is a major landmark in the construction of the Eacop and a clear sign of the progress of the project. Government and its partners are committed to ensuring that all developments are completed in the most environmentally responsible and sustainable manner,” said

He also mentioned that civil works on the pumping stations, major camps, pipe yards, and storage facilities along the 1,443-kilometer pipeline connecting oil reserves in Uganda's Albertine Basin to Tanzania's Tanga port were under way.

At this point, the project has received 800 kilometers of line pipes, which are now being coated and insulated at the Nzega Coating Yard.

Tanzania receives line pipes

Back in December, 2023, the project organizers revealed that the first 100km of pipes had been delivered to the Dar port in Tanzania for the commencement of the joint oil project between Uganda and Tanzania.

Then the project coordinator Mr. Msovu, noted that the installation of the pipes will kick off in April 2024, and by 2025, it should be completed.

“We anticipate that the project will formally start its operations of bringing oil from Uganda to this nation (Tanzania) by the start of 2026,” the coordinator had stated.

The project coordinator indicated that at least 5000 pipes have already been installed as large-scale construction is about to begin.

"The project is now set to begin its construction phase. The project is still ongoing, and both countries (Uganda and Tanzania) are ensuring that is it carried out as intended,” Mr. Msovu stated.

“The recently delivered pipes have a maximum length of 100 kilometers, we have initiated the process of moving them from Dar es Salaam to Tabora, the project’s center, and from there they will be distributed to other locations,” he added.