Final agreements made for the Lake Albert development project

15 Apr, 2021

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni posing for a group photograph with H.E Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of the Republic of Tanzania together with the Total Delegation led by chairman Patrick Poyanne and the CNOOC delegation led by President Chen Zhuobiao plus other Government officials at State House Entebbe on 11 April 2021. Image credit: The Uganda National Oil Company.

The partners of the Lake Albert development project in Uganda have concluded the final agreements required to launch the major project.

The Lake Albert development encompasses Tilenga and Kingfisher upstream oil projects in Uganda and the construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) in Uganda and Tanzania.

The Tilenga project, operated by Total, and the Kingfisher project, operated by CNOOC, are expected to deliver a combined production of 230,000 barrels per day at plateau.

The production will be transported from the oilfields in Uganda to the port of Tanga in Tanzania via the EACOP cross-border pipeline.

Recently concluded agreements include the Shareholders Agreement of EACOP and the Tariff and Transportation Agreement between EACOP and the Lake Albert oil shippers. These agreements open the way for the commencement of the Lake Albert development project. The main engineering, procurement and construction contracts are expected to be awarded shortly, and construction will start shortly after. First oil export is planned in early 2025.

Total said all partners are committed to implementing these projects in an exemplary manner and taking into the highest consideration the biodiversity and environmental stakes as well as the local communities’ rights and within the stringent environmental and social performance standards of the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Total, Patrick Pouyanné, said the Tilenga development and EACOP pipeline project are major projects for Total and are consistent with their strategy to focus on low breakeven oil projects while lowering the average carbon intensity of the group’s upstream portfolio.

“These projects will create significant in-country value for both Uganda and Tanzania,” he said.

“Total is also taking into the highest consideration the sensitive environmental context and social stakes of these onshore projects. Our commitment is to implement these projects in an exemplary and fully transparent manner.”

The upstream partners for the project are Total (56.67 per cent), CNOOC (28.33 per cent) and UNOC (15 per cent).