LOCATION: Uganda & Tanzania
RELATIONSHIP: CNOOC Ltd. owns an 8% stake in the pipeline. CNOOC Ltd. also owns owns a 28.33% stake in both of the upstream oil field projects associated with the EACOP project, Tilenga and Kingfisher. CNOOC operates the Kingfisher oil field.

IMPACT ON COMMUNITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

EACOP, if completed, would be the world’s longest heated oil pipeline, stretching nearly 1,443 kilometers through East Africa and traversing several heavily populated districts in both Uganda and Tanzania. Approximately 118,000 people would be physically and economically displaced as a result of pipeline construction and associated infrastructure and oil extraction, including at the Tilenga and Kingfisher oil fields. Land acquisition for the projects has involved coercion, delayed and inadequate compensation, and a lack of consultation or free, prior and informed consent, across the EACOP, Tilenga and Kingfisher projects. The projects threaten water sources and wetlands in both Uganda and Tanzania, which tens of millions of people rely on for drinking and food production. Extraction at the Tilenga oil field takes place partially within a national park, and therefore threatens regional tourism and fishing industries critical to the local economy. Individuals who have spoken up about the social and environmental consequences of the project have been intimidated and arrested. In 2022, the European Union passed a resolution calling on TotalEnergies to halt implementation of the project, in light of the human rights and environmental risks and impacts. A report published in September 2024 outlines severe impacts at the Kingfisher oil field site, including intense militarization, corruption, and sexual violence of the local population, among other issues.

IMPACT ON ENVIRONMENT AND BIODIVERSITY

An estimated 2,000 square kilometers of protected wildlife habitats and 500 square kilometers of wildlife corridors for the Eastern Chimpanzee and African Elephant will be negatively impacted by the EACOP project. The pipeline is a part of a $10 billion plan that also opens up other critical ecosystems to oil extraction. Total has started oil drilling within the boundaries of Murchison Falls National Park, threatening the park’s important biodiversity. The pipeline also threatens fresh water sources along its route, including a 400 kilometer stretch of the Lake Victoria basin. Two Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas are also at high risk in case of an oil spill. A 2024 report contained whistleblower allegations of illegal dumping and spills of oil and chemicals into Lake Albert at the Kingfisher site.

IMPACT ON CLIMATE

EACOP will enable the extraction and transport of oil that would generate an estimated 379 million metric tons of CO2 over the project lifecycle, increasing the severity of the climate emergency.

RESOURCES

Information on this project was submitted by Africa Institute for Energy Governance and Environment Governance Institute and last updated on March 4th, 2025.