The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) has announced the arrival of the first shipment of 100 km of line pipes at the port of Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania.
This signals the initiation of the main construction phase for the cross-border pipeline project as Uganda races against time to deliver her first oil in 2025 with only a year left.
The line pipes were received at an event to mark the historic occasion held between EACOP’s shareholders at the storage yard terminal operated by EACOP’s Tanzania Logistics partner, SuperDoll.
The onward transportation of pipes to their point of use will be conducted using new, high specification trucks and trailers.
The project has also invested in extensive driver training, focusing on defensive driving practices, route planning, and compliance with road regulations.
The pipeline will have the capacity to pump up to 230,000 barrels of crude oil daily down a specially designed 1,443 km-long `smart’ pipe from Kabalega Industrial Park in Hoima to the Chongoleani peninsula at the Indian Ocean coastline of Tanzania.
Some parts of the pipe will be heat traced so that the high-grade, low-sulphur Ugandan crude oil, which is waxy at surface temperatures, will flow evenly.
The pipeline, which will be buried along its length at up to 1.5 metres below the surface, will be lined with hi-tech insulation as well as sensors and cut-off valves to minimise the risk of leakages.
The project represents a major inward investment in Uganda and Tanzania.
EACOP has faced criticism from climate activists as a threat to sensitive environmental ecosystems such as wetlands and Lake Victoria- Africa’s freshwater lake.
However, a statement from the EACOP company shows, its focused on ensuring that its activities adhere to the most stringent social, environmental and safety standards.
The Beijing trip
The arrival of the line pipes coincides with a Beijing trip that Petroleum Authority Executive Director Mr Ernest Rubondo took to China in October.
Bob Okodi, Amref Health Africa Uganda CFO, On Purpose-Driven Finance and Measuring Impact in Lives, Not MarginsMr Rubondo met with officials from the Panyu Chu Kong (PCK) Steel Pipe Co. Ltd, the Chinese company contracted to supply line pipes for the pipeline.
The officials confirmed to Mr Rubondo that the first batch of 100 kilometres of pipes had been completed, and were in the process of being delivered to the port of Tanga, in Tanzania.
“We are committed to ensuring timely delivery and high quality pipes” Mr. Xie Leshan the PCK Steel Pipe company President told a delegation of the Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU) led by Mr. Rubondo.
The team visited PCK’s Pipe Mill in Lianyungang as part of a verification and validation visit to the Kingfisher Development project and East Africa Crude Oil pipeline (EACOP) Project activities in China, ahead of accelerated timelines for Uganda’s Oil projects.
“The readiness of the first 100km of pipes for the EACOP is an indication of the government of Uganda and the oil companies’ commitment to deliver First Oil,” said Mr. Rubondo.
The developers of the EACOP project are CNOOC Uganda Limited, TotalEnergies EP Uganda, Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) and the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC).
EACOP cost estimates stand at USD5b (UGX18.6 trillion) with a 60 to 40 per cent debt-to-equity ratio. The China EXIM bank will finance a large part of the debt.
Main contractors
The China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Co. Ltd is the main contractor of the pipeline construction, feedlines and other above-ground installations, the company is a subsidiary of state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).
Other EACOP contractors include Australia’s WorleyParsons Ltd which will undertake the engineering, procurement, and construction management. French multinational, Bollore Logistics won the logistics contract.
The logistics multinational will be responsible for end-to-end receiving, storage, handling and transportation of hundreds of thousands of cubic metres of cargo, including over 80,000 joints of 18-metre line-pipe, multiple heavy-lift operations and significant break-bulk and containerised cargo transportation.
