Uganda Oil Pipeline Is 92% Complete

UGANDA · TANZANIA · OIL PIPELINE

Uganda’s state oil company says the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) is 92 percent complete, and the pipeline company itself reported 92.7 percent on 1 September 2026. Tanzania’s Vice President Deogratius Ndejembi met Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni at State House in Entebbe on Wednesday 4 November 2026, and Uganda’s first oil has slipped to before the end of June 2027.

EACOP runs 1,447 km from Kabaale in Hoima District, Uganda, to the Chongoleani Peninsula near Tanga Port in Tanzania, according to the pipeline company. TotalEnergies, the French oil major, is its largest shareholder with 62 percent, ahead of Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) and Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC), the two state oil companies, with 15 percent each, and CNOOC Limited, China’s offshore oil producer, is also a shareholder.

What the Two Leaders Discussed

State House said Museveni and Ndejembi, who was on a one-day working visit, discussed stronger bilateral relations and the timely implementation of strategic projects, and that Ndejembi conveyed greetings from Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan. The State House statement does not name the pipeline or give any figure, so the progress numbers below come from the pipeline company, UNOC and officials who spoke separately.

Mussa Makame, managing director of TPDC, said on 21 September 2026 that construction had created about 10,000 jobs, 7,500 of them for Tanzanians, and that more than 200 Tanzanian companies held contracts worth over TZS 1.325 trillion (about US$502 million). He also said the government had collected more than TZS 100 billion (about US$37.9 million) in taxes, fees, duties and levies, and every Tanzanian shilling (TZS) figure here is converted at the Bank of Tanzania’s mean rate of TZS 2,640 per US dollar on 6 November 2026.

Uganda is landlocked, so EACOP would give its crude a route to the Indian Ocean. Makame said the first crude should reach a pumping station in Uganda in December 2026 and arrive at Chongoleani in February 2027.

How Far the Pipeline Has Got

Kristina Kasebayo, head of compliance at UNOC, said on Thursday 15 October 2026 at African Energy Week in Cape Town that EACOP was 92 percent complete and that first oil would start before the end of Uganda’s financial year in June 2027. The pipeline company said on 1 September 2026 that the project had reached 92.7 percent overall completion, after Uganda’s Energy Minister Monica Musenero visited Pump Station 1 in Hoima on 31 August.

Maximus Ochai, chair of the Finance Committee of Uganda’s Parliament, said in mid-September 2026 that Finance Minister Henry Musasizi and officials of UNOC and the Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU), the state regulator, told him the pipeline would be ready to receive crude by mid-December 2026. Ernest Rubondo of PAU blamed the missed 31 July 2026 first-oil target largely on specialised equipment for the oil projects that was delayed by the war in the Middle East.

Being ready to receive crude is not the start of exports, because the pipeline must still be commissioned and filled before a first cargo can load at Tanga.

What It Means for US Readers

TotalEnergies holds 62 percent of the pipeline company, so a slip in EACOP’s timetable matters to its shareholders, including US investors who hold it directly or through funds. Each slip pushes back the date when Uganda’s crude can reach world markets through Tanga.

Uganda has moved its first-oil target several times: end of 2025, then June 2026, then the end of July 2026, and now before the end of June 2027. Buyers, lenders and shippers planning cargoes should treat any single month as unconfirmed until the government names one.

What Is Not Known

• The month in which Uganda will start commercial production has not been named, and the window given runs only to 30 June 2027. The Ministry of Energy and PAU can name it, and the mid-December 2026 readiness date is the next check.
• Whether the first tanker will load at Tanga in March 2027, as TPDC’s managing director said on 21 September, is open because Uganda’s first-oil window runs to 30 June 2027. TPDC and UNOC can answer once the pipeline is ready to receive crude.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is EACOP?

EACOP is the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, which runs 1,447 km from Kabaale in Hoima District, Uganda, to the Chongoleani Peninsula near Tanga Port in Tanzania. It is meant to carry crude from Uganda’s Lake Albert oilfields to the Indian Ocean for export.

How much of the pipeline is built?

UNOC put it at 92 percent complete on 15 October 2026, and the pipeline company reported 92.7 percent on 1 September 2026.

Who owns the pipeline company?

TotalEnergies is the largest shareholder with 62 percent of the shares, according to the pipeline company. UNOC and TPDC hold 15 percent each, and CNOOC Limited of China is also a shareholder.

When will Uganda’s oil flow?

Ugandan officials now say commercial production should begin before 30 June 2027. They say the pipeline should be ready to receive crude by mid-December 2026.

Why did Tanzania’s Vice President go to Entebbe?

State House said Vice President Deogratius Ndejembi made a one-day working visit on 4 November 2026 to deepen cooperation, bringing greetings from President Samia Suluhu Hassan. It said the two leaders stressed timely delivery of strategic projects but did not name the pipeline.

Sources: State House Uganda, 4 November 2026; East African Crude Oil Pipeline company (eacop.com) shareholder, route and 1 September 2026 progress pages; UNOC statement at African Energy Week, 15 October 2026; Bank of Tanzania exchange rates, 6 November 2026. Statements by TPDC’s managing director, the Finance Committee chair and PAU officials are reported accounts of what they said.

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