Tanzania and Uganda Sign Oil Pipeline Completion Agreement

The President of Uganda Yoweri Museveni and the President of Tanzania John Magufuli signed on 13th September 2020 the completion agreement for the construction of the crude oil pipeline from Hoima on the shores of Lake Albert in Uganda to the port of Tanga in Tanzania.

The signing took place at Chato Airport in the Geita Region where the two Presidents also signed a joint document of ordering a quick start to the implementation of the project.

Hoima-Tanga Crude Oil Pipeline Project

Uganda has proven oil reserves exceeding 6.5 billion barrels, of which about 2.2 billion barrels are recoverable.

The country plans to exported part of the crude via a pipeline to the port of Tanga on the Indian Ocean.

The crude oil pipeline will have a total length 1,443 km of which 1,115 km in Tanzania and will be able to transport 200,000 oil barrels per day.

The project is estimated at USD 3.55 billion and is expected to generate between 6,000 and 10,000 employments.

Already in 2017, Tanzania and Uganda signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) for the construction of the pipeline. However, the project has stalled since.

In his speech, President Magufuli congratulated and thanked President Museveni for taking concrete steps to approve the pipeline, adding that the implementation of the project is a great victory economically for Uganda and Tanzania as well as the entire East African region.

He also promised that Tanzania will manage all remaining issues for implementation to start quickly.

In addition, he stated that the implementation of the project facilitates the delivery of Tanzanian gas to Uganda through the same route.

For his part, President Museveni expressed his satisfaction with the step achieved in the implementation of the project and noted that the key now is to start implementing the project so that the people can begin to see its benefits.