EACOP enters testing phase as pipeline reaches 92%

HOIMA, Uganda — The East African Crude Oil Pipeline has reached 92% completion and moved into a critical phase of commissioning and testing, its developer said, bringing Uganda closer to transporting its first crude to international markets.

EACOP Deputy Managing Director John Bosco Habumugisha said testing and commissioning were now under way alongside the remaining construction, with attention shifting to the systems needed to safely receive and move Uganda’s oil.

“Our focus is increasingly shifting towards ensuring that the critical systems are ready to safely receive and transport Uganda’s crude oil,” he said.

He said outstanding works — including administrative facilities, restoration and drainage — were not essential to the pipeline’s ability to begin receiving crude. Testing was concentrated on key systems, he said, including the facilities at Pump Station One, the fibre-optic network and the heating system that keeps the crude flowing across the route.

Habumugisha gave the update during a visit to Pump Station One in Kabaale, Hoima District, by Monica Musenero, minister of energy and mineral development, who toured the site to assess progress ahead of first oil.

The station marks kilometre zero of the 1,443-kilometre heated pipeline, which will carry crude from Uganda’s Kingfisher and Tilenga fields to the Tanzanian coast for export. Of that distance, 296 kilometres run through Uganda and 1,147 kilometres through Tanzania, according to the project.

Once production begins, crude will enter the pipeline at Hoima before being transported to the Chongoleani Marine Storage Terminal near the Port of Tanga, from where it will be loaded for export.

Musenero said the pipeline and other oil and gas projects offered an opportunity to drive long-term economic and social change in Uganda. “We believe that EACOP, together with the other oil-related projects, is a blessing to our country and will spur significant growth and innovation,” she said.

She said Uganda’s oil was being developed amid growing global debate over the future of fossil fuels, and questioned why the project had drawn particular criticism. “There is no country that has stopped using petroleum products,” she said. “Every day, planes are flying, vehicles are on the roads and industries across the world continue to rely on petroleum. We must therefore ask ourselves why EACOP is being singled out.”

Musenero said Uganda contributed minimally to global emissions and was working towards what she called a carbon-neutral barrel while investing in cleaner energy. She added that the sector should stimulate industries beyond oil production and create salaried jobs for Ugandans.

The pipeline has faced sustained opposition from environmental and human rights groups, who have raised concerns over its climate impact and the displacement of communities along the route.

The visit comes as the government and industry work to align progress across production facilities, the pipeline and export systems ahead of commercial oil production.