Africa is seeing an unprecedented development of its energy resources and infrastructure, with billions of pounds being invested into new projects.
International companies from Canada, France to China are heavily involved in plans to extract gas and oil from the continent’s abundant deposits of fossil fuels.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) says Africa’s energy expenditure will reach a cool £84 billion in 2024, with fossil fuel supply and power accounting for £54 billion.
One country keen to unlock its oil resources and boost its economic fortunes is Uganda.
The East African country is estimated to have 6.5 billion barrels of oil reserves, with at least 1.4 billion believed to be economically recoverable.
Currently the French company Total SA and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) have production licenses to develop Uganda’s oil reserves for export.
As part of the project, a 1,443 km (896 miles) crude oil pipeline – known as the East African Crude Oil Pipeline Project (EACOP) – will be built from Uganda’s Tilenga and Kingfisher oil fields to the Port of Tanga, Tanzania on the Indian Ocean.
Eighty percent of the 24 inch pipeline will run through Tanzania and will be buried in the ground, as well as being thermally insulated.
Once completed it would be the longest electrically heated crude oil pipeline in the world.
The total cost of the project is estimated to run to about £3.8 billion.
As of August 2024, EACOP has received 700 km of the 1,443 km of line pipes required for the construction of the pipeline.
The pipeline is expected to bring huge economic and social benefits – including the development of new infrastructure and technology transfer, as well as improving the livelihoods of communities along the route.
However, the project has not been without considerable controversy and has faced stiff opposition.
Global environmental groups and the European Union have protested against its construction and finance, due to the large scale displacement of communities and wildlife, the threat to water resources, and the contribution to climate change that the project entails.
Protesters argue that the future of East Africa relies on building sustainable, diversified and inclusive economies.
The #STOPEACOP campaign said in a statement on its website: “Rather than betting its development on a dying industry, we need to recognise that East Africa’s economic strength comes from the region’s biodiversity, heritage and natural landscapes.
“Investing in renewable energy, tourism, small-scale agriculture, fishing and reforestation programs will provide far more jobs to local communities, a wider range of economic benefits for East Africa and a cleaner environment which will benefit the whole world.”
