The East African Crude Oil Pipeline Project (EACOP) is a pipeline that will transport oil produced from Uganda’s Lake Albert oilfields to the port of Tanga in Tanzania where the oil will then be sold onwards to world markets. The pipeline is buried and once topsoil and vegetation have been re-instated people and animals will be able to cross freely anywhere along its length.
The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), also known as the Uganda–Tanzania Crude Oil Pipeline (UTCOP), is under construction and intended to transport crude oil from Uganda’s oil fields to the Port of Tanga, Tanzania on the Indian Ocean. Once completed, the pipeline will be the longest heated crude oil pipeline in the world. Because of the large scale displacement of communities and wildlife, global environmental groups are protesting its construction and finance
Overview
EACOP runs 1,443km from Kabaale, Hoima district in Uganda to the Chongoleani Peninsula near Tanga Port in Tanzania. 80% of the pipeline is in Tanzania. It is a buried thermally insulated 24″ pipeline along with six pumping stations (two in Uganda and four in Tanzania) ending at Tanga with a Terminal and Jetty. Here crude oil will be loaded onto tankers.
Benefits
EACOP allows Uganda to unlock value from its own natural resources, and represents a significant inward investment of some $4 billion across both Uganda and Tanzania, thus value creation is also extended to Tanzania. The new corridor linking the two countries will bring benefits including the development of new infrastructure, logistics, technology transfer as well as improving the livelihoods of communities along the route.