Tanzania, Uganda sign oil pipeline project deal

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Tanzania and Uganda on Sunday signed the East African Crude Oil Pipeline project agreement that will build a 1,440 km crude oil pipeline will be constructed from Uganda’s Albertine region to the seaport of Tanga in Tanzania.

The agreement was signed by Uganda President Yoweri Museveni and Tanzania President Samia Hassan Suluhu in the Uganda capital, Kampala. Uganda suspended the signing of the deal last month as a mark of respect for the death of Tanzania’s then-president John Pombe Magufuli.

Tanzania, Uganda sign oil pipeline deal

Upon completion, the 1,440 km crude oil pipeline could be the longest electrically heated crude oil pipeline in the world. Extraction will take place at two oil fields in Uganda: the Tilenga field, which is operated by Total S.A., and the Kingfisher field, operated by China National Offshore Oil Corporation Ltd.

The pipeline will cost $3.55 billion to construct and is expected to create more than 10,000 jobs. However, environmental activists say the project could jeopardise protected environmental areas, including wetlands in both countries.

Featured image: Google Maps

About Aaron Brooks

Aaron Brooks is a UK journalist who wants to cut out the international agendas in news. Spending his early years in both England and Northern Ireland he saw the difference between reality and media coverage at an early age. After graduating from the University of Chester with a BA in journalism, his travels revealed just how large the gap between news and the real world can be. As Editor-in-Chief at East Africa Monitor, it’s his job to provide a balanced view of what’s going on in the region for English-speaking audiences.