The Tilenga-EACOP project ranks among TotalEnergies’ most contentious ventures, pairing oil extraction in remote Uganda with a massive pipeline stretching to the Tanzanian coast.
Set to launch in 2027, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline will become the world’s longest heated oil pipeline once complete, running 1,443 kilometers underground from the Tilenga and Kingfisher oil fields of Uganda to the port of Tanga on the Indian Ocean coastline of Tanzania.
TotalEnergies will operate 426 wells at Tilenga, on Lake Albert’s northeastern shore, for the next two decades.
The company also holds a stake in Kingfisher, where China National Offshore Oil Corporation runs roughly 30 wells nearby.
Because Ugandan crude is unusually viscous, engineers must heat it to 50°C throughout transport. The pipeline will eventually carry up to 246,000 barrels daily.
As of May, the consortium led by TotalEnergies at 62%, with Uganda and Tanzania’s national oil companies and CNOOC holding the remainder had finished 84% of construction.
Environmental groups have pushed back hard. The Climate Accountability Institute brands the project a “carbon bomb,” projecting 379 million tonnes of emissions over its lifespan.
Roughly 100 wells sit inside Murchison Falls, Uganda’s the oldest national park of Uganda, raising fears about leaks across sensitive wetlands and wildlife corridors.
TotalEnergies maintains it has taken steps to offset the damage, including habitat restoration.
The human toll has drawn equally sharp criticism. NGOs say over 100,000 displaced residents have faced slow or inadequate compensation, though TotalEnergies disputes this, citing payouts to 99% of affected households and nearly 80,000 jobs created.
Legal challenges keep piling up in France. A separate climate trial reached a verdict Thursday, while NGOs and Ugandan villagers pursue damages claims set for a February 2027 hearing.
Earlier suits including one alleging “ecocide” and another filed at the East African Court of Justice have been dismissed on technical or procedural grounds, though plaintiffs continue pressing forward.
