Construction License for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) Ltd.
The East African Crude Oil Pipeline Company (EACOP) Ltd, on the 24th of January 2023, received a license for the construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline.
The construction license will enable the company to kickstart the development of the 1,443km, 24-inch diameter heated and buried crude oil pipeline.
The License was granted by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development (MEMD), 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 Establishment of the East African Crude Oil Company (EACOP) Ltd.
Following the Final Investment Decision (FID) ceremony on the 1st of February 2022, East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) Ltd has formally concluded the formation of the company that will construct the 1,443km, East African Crude Oil Pipeline1 from Kabaale, Hoima District in Uganda, to the Chongoleani Peninsula near Tanga Port in Tanzania. EACOP Ltd is a special purpose company, governed by its Shareholders Agreement in which TotalEnergies (62%), Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC – 15%), Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC – 15%) and CNOOC (8%) are shareholders.
The Final Investment Decision
On 01 February 2022, Total Energies EP Uganda, CNOOC Uganda Limited, the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC), and the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) announced the Final Investment Decision on the Lake Albert Development. The journey to FID started in 2006 with the confirmation of commercial oil and gas resources in Uganda. The announcement of FID is a significant milestone for the project and marks the beginning of the detailed Engineering, Procurement and Construction phase by the Joint Venture Partners and therefore the Commitment to deliver first oil by 2025.
The Signing of the Host Government Agreements (HGAs)
The Project and the government of the Republic of Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania together signed the Host Government Agreement (HGA) on 11th April and 20th May 2021 respectively. The HGAs establish the legal and commercial framework for EACOP to be financed, constructed and operated.
The Signing of the Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA)
In May 2017, the Governments of the Republic of Uganda and The United Republic of Tanzania signed the Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline Project. The signing of the IGA is a significant milestone that provides the foundation for the project as well as for other project agreements, including the Host Government Agreements, Shareholders’ Agreements and the Financing Agreements. This agreement marks the decision of the two countries to embark on developing the pipeline.
The laying of the Foundation Stones
On the 5th of August 2017, The President of Uganda, H.E Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and his Tanzanian counterpart, H.E President John Joseph Pombe Magufuli laid the Foundation Stone at the end point of the 1,443km long pipeline at Chongoleani, near Tanga Port in Tanzania.
The two Presidents thereafter laid the Cross Border Mark stone at Ruzinga Village, Mutukula – Kyotera District on the 9th of November 2017, and the Foundation Stone at the starting point of the pipeline at Kabaale in Hoima District, on the 11th of November 2017.
Geophysical and Geotechnical Studies
The Geophysical and Geo-Technical Surveys – Thorough and comprehensive site investigation for the design and construction
Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs) - Uganda and Tanzania
The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) issued a certificate of approval to Total East Africa Midstream B.V, for the Environment and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) Project- in Uganda on the 30th November 2020.
The approval for the Tanzanian section was issued by the National Environment Management Council (NEMC), on November 29, 2019,
ESIAs are undertaken to identify and assess the potential environmental, social and health effects of a project and are aimed at identifying adequate measures to avoid and mitigate potential impacts as well as enhancing the project’s benefits.
The Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) Studies and the discussions on the Host Government Agreement (HGAs)
The Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) studies for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline Project and the optimization of these studies have been successfully completed. These studies have developed the project’s Basic Engineering and will form the basis for Detailed Engineering which specifies how the pipeline, and the Above Ground Installations are going to be constructed. Following the successful completion of the FEED studies and the FEED optimization studies for the EACOP, the project has selected the Engineering Procurement and Construction Management (EPCm) contractor- Worley.