Tanzanian-Ugandan oil pipeline will boost export of Uganda’s crude oil reserve

Construction of the US$ 4bn Tanzanian-Ugandan oil pipeline that is set to connect Uganda which is a landlocked country is on track and scheduled to commence soon.

Generally, the objective of the Tanzanian-Ugandan oil pipeline is to keep Uganda on track with the aim of exporting its first crude reserves by the year 2020 and if the project was to ahead as planned then the construction would be completed in mid 2019 allowing enough time for testing and commissioning before launching the infrastructure for operations.

However, the Tanzanian and Ugandan governments have both made so much progress in preparing the way for construction to begin on the project that is anticipated to transport Ugandan crude oil to the Tanzanian port of Tanga on the Indian Ocean; the pipeline is also projected to connect Uganda to foreign markets and will cover a distance of 900 miles.

Three firms are the ones responsible for developing the oil fields, namely Total SA– A French oil giant, the UK-based Tullow Oil and Cnooc Ltd-Chinese state owned Oil Company. All of the three are supposed to invest in the Ugandan pipeline which is set to carry a probable capacity of 200,000 barrels a day.

Total SA and Tullow Oil confirmed that there is no ultimate start date for the construction of the Tanzanian-Ugandan oil pipeline to begin in the absence of an official development plan.

“With no official development plan in place, it is definite that the construction phase is still several months away to start,” commented the two companies.

According to the International Monetary Fund, Uganda at present ranks as the fourth largest crude oil reserve in sub-Saharan Africa with the discovery of a whole 6.5 billion barrels of oil since 2006 of which 1.2 and 1.7 billion of the barrels are recoverable.

The Ugandan government made the announcement official about its pipeline partnership with Tanzania in late April this year.