Uganda, Tanzania, Total, CNOOC reach landmark oil deal

Representatives of the governments of Uganda and Tanzania on Sunday signed a tripartite agreement with France’s Total and China’s CNOOC to move ahead with Uganda’s Lake Albert oil developments and a key pipeline project.

The projects are expected to bring in USD 15 billion-20 billion in investments, Proscovia Nabbanja, CEO of Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC), told The Energy Year.

The agreement was signed in Kampala by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Total CEO Patrick Pouyanné and newly appointed Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan.

The deal comes 15 years after oil was discovered in Uganda’s Albertine Rift Basin. The country is estimated to hold 1.4 billion barrels of recoverable resources, and its government has been putting comprehensive measures in place to ensure the efficient and value-added development of these resources.

Uganda’s hydrocarbons activity is focused on two projects: the Total-operated Tilenga Project and the CNOOC-operated Kingfisher Project, both in the Lake Albert area. Commercialisation is expected via an in-country refinery with a capacity of 60,000 bpd and via the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), with a capacity of up to 180,000 bpd. Both are being developed to receive first oil by 2023-2024.

Total, UNOC and CNOOC are the project partners. They are expected to award major EPC contracts following the deal.

For more on Uganda’s oil developments, read our interview with UNOC CEO Proscovia Nabbanja and president of CNOOC Uganda Chen Zhuobiao.