In line with the MoU on commercialisation of the discovered petroleum resources in Uganda, feasibility studies on the development of a Crude Oil Export Pipeline from the Albertine Graben in Uganda to the East African Coast, were undertaken with a view to selecting the least cost route for transporting Uganda’s crude oil to the coast. The Hoima (Uganda) – Tanga (Tanzania) route was selected as more secure, at a cheaper cost and therefore, a lower tariff.

A 1445km long, 24-inch diameter, buried and heated East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) from Kabaale, Hoima in Uganda to Chongoleani in Tanga, Tanzania, is being developed to transport crude oil from Uganda to Tanga port in Tanzania. The development of this pipeline is being led by the licensed upstream oil companies in Uganda, with participating interests by the Governments of Uganda and Tanzania. The pipeline will have a loading pad in Kabaale, six pumping stations and 27 heating stations along the route together with a facility to load crude oil on to tankers at Chongoleani

Project development committees have been set up including a Pipeline Project Team led by the private sector in carrying out daily activities of the Project. This is in addition to a multidisciplinary Joint Project Development Committee (JPDC) spearheading the implementation of the project, and a Project Steering Committee (PSC) of Permanent Secretaries to review progress and report to the sector Ministers.

The Inter-Governmental Agreement between Uganda and Tanzania was signed during May 2017 and a Foundation Stones for the EACOP were lad in Tanga during August 2017 and Hoima during November 2017.

The Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) for the pipeline was undertaken by Gulf Interstate Engineering (GIE) and the project will be a partnership between Governments of Uganda (represented by UNOC) and Tanzania, together with the Upstream licensees in Uganda and funded through project finance arrangement.

Negotiation of the Host Government Agreement (HGA) which shall be the framework for the implementation of the EACOP Project in the territory of Uganda commenced in August 2017 between the Government and the Pipeline Project developers.

Visit http://eacop.com/ for more information about the project