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France’s Total and the majority state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation Ltd. (CNOOC) plan to build the world’s longest heated crude oil pipeline, running through the heart of East Africa from Hoima in Uganda to the port of Tanga in Tanzania. Local communities and civil society groups have raised concerns regarding extensive displacement and impacts on the critical ecosystems of the Lake Victoria basin area.
Project Impacts
Climate change: It has been calculated that the emissions from burning the oil transported by the pipeline could reach at least 34.3 million metric tons of CO2-equivalent per year at peak production. This amount is larger than the current annual emissions of Uganda and Tanzania combined, and roughly equivalent to the carbon emissions of Denmark.
Biodiversity: The project will impact on almost 2,000 square kilometres of protected wildlife habitats, including national parks, game reserves, biodiversity areas, Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs), Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), mangrove forests, and coral reefs. The pipeline is slated to run near or through several Ramsar Wetlands of International Importance.
Endangered species: The pipeline will pass through Bugoma forest, an important corridor for the endangered Eastern chimpanzee. It also threatens elephant wildlife corridors and will transfer oil in the proximity of waters that are home to dugongs and sea turtles.
Deforestation: EACOP will run through the Taala Forest Reserve. This potential loss of forest cover is particularly problematic considering Uganda is already losing about 90,000 hectares of forest per year.
Water: The pipeline crosses important water sources that are used for drinking and food production by local people. Nearly one-third of the proposed pipeline would be constructed in the Lake Victoria freshwater basin, which supports the livelihoods of over 40 million people. The planned route would cross numerous other water courses. Pipeline leaks could have serious impacts on these water sources and associated wildlife and livelihoods.
Land conflict & displacement: 5,300 hectares of land will be needed for construction and operation of the pipeline, and around 14,000 households will lose land. Affected people have reported that land valuation has been conducted in an environment of intimidation, and compensation has been continuously delayed.
Livelihoods: The pipeline threatens livelihoods of those dependent on tourism and ecological services in the areas that it passes through. Impacts on vital freshwater sources, such as Lake Victoria, as well as restricted access to farmland, threaten the agricultural livelihoods of the local population.
Impact assessment: Impact assessments have been conducted with limited meaningful public consultation, and independent reviews of these assessments have deemed them inadequate.
Authorities have reportedly escalated repression of human rights defenders (HRDs) opposing oil development projects in the Lake Albert region, particularly targeting protests against the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). This page tracks alleged attacks on human rights defenders. It also includes records of company responses and non-responses.
This page provides a comprehensive overview of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project, including its background, key stakeholders, potential impacts on local communities and the environment, and the ongoing concerns and opposition raised by various civil society groups.
The Kingfisher oil field, operated by CNOOC Limited, is one of two oil fields in Uganda's Lake Albert region that will supply crude oil to EACOP. For more information on the alleged human rights impacts related to the Kingfisher project, please see our separate story page.
The governments of Uganda and Tanzania have jointly requested the Appellate Division of the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) to dismiss a petition filed by four civil society organisations (CSOs) from Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania, aiming to halt the construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).
In February 2025, the East African Court of Justice held an appeal hearing in Kigali in the case brought by several NGOs contesting the agreement between the Ugandan and Tanzanian governments on the EACOP project. This colossal project, led by TotalEnergies, involves the construction of the longest heated oil pipeline in the world, connecting the oil reserves around Lake Albert in Uganda to the Tanzanian port of Tanga. After the dismissal of their case in the first instance for technical reasons, this hearing is the last chance for these organisations to obtain a judgment on the merits.
New engagement and policy analysis from BankTrack covering the 50 largest European banks shows a dwindling number of European bank candidates are prepared to finance the project.
Climate activists protested at AIG's New York office, demanding the insurance giant join 25 other insurers in refusing coverage for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), which campaigners say has led to displacement, human rights violations, and harassment of environmental activists in Uganda and Tanzania.
Farmers displaced by the EACOP project along the serene coastline of Chongoleani are concerned that the compensation paid to them by the project is inadequate.
Civil society organizations and activists protested at Chinese embassies in 10 countries, calling on Chinese state-owned financial institutions to reject financing for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project due to concerns over potential human rights abuses and environmental damage.
A Ugandan activist campaigning to stop the development of a $5 billion crude oil pipeline in East Africa by France's TotalEnergies and others has been detained by Uganda's military according to the group he works.
Stephen Kwikiriza from the Ugandan environmental pressure group Environment Governance Institute (EGI) has been campaigning to halt the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (Eacop).
The 1,445-km pipeline is to carry crude from oilfields in Uganda's west through Tanzania to a port on Tanzania's coast.
Uganda is expected to start building the US$5 billion East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) in January after the first shipment of pipes arrived from China, as opposition to the massive project intensifies.
A court in Uganda on Friday dismissed claims by dozens of families who felt they had been wronged when they were compensated for the use of land used to develop a TotalEnergies oil megaproject, an activist and a plaintiff said.
The East African Court of Justice (EACJ) handed down a judgment in the case that challenges the construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) by TotalEnergies, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and the Ugandan and Tanzanian governments.
Despite public disavowals of the EACOP project due to its adverse impacts, leading financial institutions are indirectly investing significant amounts through Chinese state-owned oil firm CNOOC, a shareholder and developer of the pipeline.
The construction of the East African crude oil pipeline has been delayed by the complexities and grievances regarding the resettlement of project-affected persons.
The East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) has strongly castigated opponents of the Hoima-Tanga crude oil pipeline. Ms Mary Mugyenyi (Uganda) said her country and Tanzania were united against the critics of EACOP and would go ahead with its implementation. “We should also identify their local collaborators and crush them”
International oil major TotalEnergies will on October 10 answer to charges of environmental and human rights abuse before the European Union parliament in Brussels in a new threat to the actualisation of its East African Crude Oil Pipeline (Eacop) and related upstream oil projects in Uganda’s Lake Albert region.
The French oil and gas company TotalEnergies has worked to cultivate a green reputation with climate goals and plans to ramp up renewable power, but a massive east African oil project is casting a shadow over that messaging campaign.
Activists argue that the EACOP project poses different environmental and human rights risks to the communities located along the pipeline corridor in Uganda and Tanzania.
263 civil society organisations (CSOs) have urged banks not to participate in a $2.5 billion project finance loan for the construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project.
Financial institutions continue to withdraw from their participation in the proposed East African Crude Oil Pipeline due to concerns about its potential impact on climate.
The fate of a planned line from Uganda to Tanzania will be the first test of whether anyone was listening to António Guterres’ call to end fossil fuels
A lawyer is seeking to stop the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project, citing violation of arrangements that provide for Ugandans to be involved in the procurement process.
Residents from the eight regions where the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project will pass, expressed concerns yesterday about the emerging bureaucracy that may see many missing out on opportunities rleated to the pipeline in their area.
Critics of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project say it will spell doom for the environment on a continent with an abundance of potential for non-polluting renewable energy.
Three French banks – BNP Paribas, Société Générale and Crédit Agricole have reportedly opted not to finance the East African Crude Oil Pipeline due to alleged human rights and environmental concerns
Activists have accused French and Chinese oil firms of ignoring huge environmental risks after the signing of accords on the controversial construction of a £2.5bn oil pipeline.
263 non-governmental organisations have urged 25 banks listed as potential financiers of the $3.5 billion development not to participate in the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (Eacop) project citing environmental and social risks.
South Africa’s Standard Bank, which was to have been a financier of the $3.5bn East African Crude Oil Pipeline (Eacop), has announced that it is suspending support while it waits for the outcome of an environmental and social impact study.
Friends of the Earth France and Survie have published a new report on Total's activities in Uganda and Tanzania, reporting that the human rights violations denounced over a year ago are still ongoing and have multiplied, now impacting about 100,000 people.
A coalition of NGOs is challenging the construction of the East Africa oil pipeline in the East African Court of Justice to stop its development due to social and environmental concerns.
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