East Africa: Total to Reach Albertine Basin FID Next Week

French major Total is said to be  ready to announce the albertine basin final investment decision this Sunday according to a source not named by Bloomberg. Citing an unnamed source in the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) Bloomberg said the $5.1 billion could get the go ahead including the building of the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) the longest heated crude oil pipeline globally.

This decision comes at a time when major financiers are said to be reconsidering their involvement in the project which could impact the required resources for this project. Already over 260 organizations have called on banks not to finance the project citing  serious environmental and social risks to protected wildlife areas, water sources and communities throughout Uganda and Tanzania.

According to stopeacop.net a number of banks have already said they will not participate in the project where Standard Bank, through its subsidiary Stanbic Uganda, along with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and Sumitomo Mitsui Bank (SMBC), are acting as financial advisors to the project.

Information on the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) including the technical attributes  can be found in the newly published Uganda Upstream Outlook 2021-2022