The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Hydrocarbons Ministry has revealed that talks are underway with neighbouring Uganda to use the latter’s $3.5 billion 1,445-kilometer pipeline dubbed as East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).  If all goes well, Uganda is expected to start pumping oil in 2025.

The pipeline will transport oil produced from Uganda’s Lake Albert oilfields to the port of Tanga in Tanzania, where the oil will then be sold to world markets.  The pipeline is buried, and once topsoil and vegetation have been re-instated, people and animals can cross freely along its length. 

Uganda acknowledged the crucial requirement of DRC to access the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP)

in a recently published Twitter statement, Congo’s Ministry of Hydrocarbons said that its minister Didier Budimbu met his Ugandan counterpart Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu with discussions involving access to the pipeline.

“Uganda acknowledged the crucial requirement of DRC to access the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) for the transport of crude oil to be produced from the oil exploration blocks located in the Albertine Graben in the Democratic Republic of Congo,” the statement read.

According to the statement, technical teams from both sides would consult and write reports to be given to the two ministers, who would subsequently brief the presidents of the two nations on signing a Memorandum of Understanding.

The talks were verified, and the EACOP was reported to have been created with Uganda’s neighbours, notably the DRC and South Sudan, in mind, according to a representative for the country’s energy ministry in Uganda. Uganda and Tanzania’s neighbours are also hopeful that they will be able to acquire money for a proposed pipeline for exporting petroleum.

Media reports have affirmed that the president of DRC, Félix Tshisekedi, is eyeing the East African Crude Oil Pipeline even though no crude oil has been discovered on the Congolese side of Lake Albert, but on the eastern side of the lake, in land-locked Uganda, commercial production of reserves estimated at over 6.5bn barrels may commence in 2025, after long delays since the initial discovery in 2006. On the western side of the lake, in a part of the DRC, progress has been slower and first oil is further off. However, exploration licences have recently become free for two blocks that may hold over 3bn barrels of oil, according to a 2012 seismic survey. If the oil proves to be recoverable the blocks could prove profitable for the licence holders and provide much-needed revenue for the DRC, reported African Business.