The world’s longest heated crude oil pipeline is more than three-quarters complete, Uganda’s petroleum authorities said, marking a major milestone for a project that has drawn both regional support and sustained environmental opposition.
The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), a 1,443-kilometre (896-mile) conduit linking Uganda’s oilfields to the Tanzanian port of Tanga, is now 74.5 percent complete, according to information obtained by local media and confirmed by sector officials.
Valued at more than (US$4 billion), the pipeline will transport waxy crude oil from western Uganda across Tanzania to the Indian Ocean for export. Construction of the project began in 2023, with first oil exports expected in 2027.
Once operational, EACOP is expected to underpin Uganda’s entry into the ranks of oil-exporting nations, following nearly two decades of exploration and project delays since commercially viable oil reserves were confirmed in the Lake Albert region in 2006.
The pipeline is owned by a consortium made up of affiliates of Uganda’s upstream joint venture partners TotalEnergies EP Uganda, China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) Uganda, and the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) alongside Tanzania’s state-owned Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC).
TotalEnergies holds the largest stake at 62 percent, while UNOC and TPDC each own 15 percent, and CNOOC holds the remaining eight percent.
Meanwhile, development work at Uganda’s two flagship oilfields, Tilenga and Kingfisher, is nearing completion, officials said.
Ernest Rubondo, chief executive of the Uganda Petroleum Authority, said construction at the Tilenga oilfield, operated by TotalEnergies, is approximately 60 percent complete, while work at the Kingfisher field, led by CNOOC, has reached about 74 percent.
The two oilfields are expected to produce a combined peak output of around 200,000 barrels per day once fully operational, generating between (US$1 billion) and (US$2.5 billion) in annual revenues, equivalent to roughly nine percent of Uganda’s government income, according to official estimates.
Rubondo said the oilfields and associated infrastructure form part of a broader investment push worth about [$4 billion], aimed at preparing Uganda’s petroleum sector for full-scale production ahead of the planned 2027 export date.
Despite the progress, the pipeline has remained controversial, attracting criticism from environmental groups and civil society organisations concerned about its impact on protected ecosystems, climate change, and the livelihoods of local communities along its route.
In 2020, four non-governmental organisations filed a legal challenge against the project at the East African Court of Justice (EACJ), seeking to halt construction.
The plaintiffs Uganda’s Africa Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO) and Centre for Food and Adequate Living Rights (CEFROHT), Kenya’s Natural Justice, and Tanzania’s Centre for Strategic Litigation argued that the pipeline would pass through environmentally sensitive and protected areas in both Uganda and Tanzania.
They also sought compensation for project-affected persons, citing losses linked to land acquisition and restrictions on land use during construction.
In November 2023, the EACJ’s First Instance Division dismissed the case, ruling that the applicants had failed to prove violations of regional environmental and human rights obligations.
The civil society groups filed an appeal the following month, but the court’s Appeals Division this year upheld the earlier decision, effectively clearing the legal path for the project to proceed.
The appeal was heard in sessions held in Arusha, Tanzania, and Kigali, Rwanda, in November 2024 and February 2025.
Ugandan and Tanzanian authorities have repeatedly defended the pipeline, saying it meets international environmental standards and will bring jobs, infrastructure and long-term revenues to the region.
With construction advancing and legal hurdles largely resolved, EACOP is now on course to become a cornerstone of East Africa’s emerging oil industry, reshaping the economic landscape of both Uganda and Tanzania in the coming years.
