The Total Energies Chief Executive Officer, Patrick Pouyanné did not show up yesterday before the European Union Parliament to answer questions about the Tilenga and East African Crude Oil Pipeline (ECOP) projects.
Pouyanne was summoned last month by the European Parliament’s Human Rights sub-commission to make a brief submission about environmental and human rights related concerns raised by the MPs, in light of the oil production activities being undertaken by Total Energies in Uganda and Tanzania.
The summons to Mr Pouyanne was sent shortly after the parliament resolution calling for the Tilenga and EACOP Projects to be halted for at least one year.
But the Total President turned down the invite in a letter to the EU Palriament President Ms. Roberta Metsola seen by this website.
In the letter, the Total Energies boss accused European Parliament of failure to respect, “the fundamental principles of the institutions of our democracies.”
Pouyanne expressed disappointment that the European Parliament never accorded him space to make clarifications on the project, until after they passed the resolution.
Even with the summons, Mr Pouyanne was reportedly told to make a presentation of only 8 minutes before the committee.
Below is the letter that Pouyanne sent to European Parliament on September 22, 2022.
Dear Ms Metsola,
I have been informed that the European Parliament last week deliberated on and then adopted, in just forty-eight hours, a resolution denouncing human rights abuses supposedly connected to the project to develop subsurface resources in Uganda, linked to infrastructure through Tanzania, led by TotalEnergies.
I very much regret that the Company and, by extension, its 105,000 employees should be publicly accused in this way by your institution, without being approached at any point for a prior adversarial discussion. I cannot help but feel that your Assembly should reach its opinions on subjects that it is free to select itself completely independently. It seems to me that, in this case, the adversarial principle on which the rule of law is based has not been respected in any way whatsoever. And I consider that the Parliament’s adoption of resolutions containing factual inexactitudes, and statements based on unfounded allegations, some serious, to be most damaging.
To cite just one example, if we had been asked for explanations¹, we would have been able to inform the Parliament that the project does not raise the “risk”, and even less an “imminent one, of the displacement of 100,000 people. In fact, 723 households, numbering some 5,000 people, will be rehomed nearby in higher quality housing: other people affected because they own or farm land covered by the project have naturally been taken into account in the compensation procedure.
The fact that the Subcommittee on Human Rights decided to extend an invitation to me after the fact, to express myself when the decision had already been taken, for a duration of “eight minutes” (according to the terms of the invitation), does not in any way correct the situation created by this deliberation, because the adversarial principle can scarcely apply retroactively. You will understand that I do not intend to accept the invitation under these circumstances.
Please accept, Madam, the assurance of my highest consideration.
Patrick Pouyanne
The letter that Pouyanne sent to European Parliament on September 22, 2022.
Government of Uganda Criticizes European Parliament
Last week on October 5, Government of Uganda vehemently criticized the European Parliament Resolution on EACOP project.
The Minister of State for Energy and Mineral Development, Peter Teko Lokeris while addressing reporters on the matter said the resolution by the EU Parliament contains several distortions.
“The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development (Uganda) notes that the European Parliament resolution contains several distortions, hearsay, and generalizations. At the very least, it is a blatant display of limited knowledge about the realities of Uganda’s oil and gas projects,” Lokeris told reporters at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala.
The EU Parliament called for halting of drilling activities in the protected and sensitive ecosystem (Murchison Falls National Park) and postponement of work on the EACOP for at least one year to study the feasibility of an alternative route that would preserve the environment and consider other projects based on renewable energy.
In response to this, Minister Lokeris said that the selection of the EACOP route followed an evaluation of three routes which included; Hoima Lokichar – Lamu and Hoima-Mombasa both in Kenya, and Hoima-Tanga in Tanzania.
The Minister said that the evaluation was based on best pipeline routing principles, including social, environmental, safety and economic considerations.
“The Hoima – Tanga route was selected as the best route for Uganda after careful evaluation based on the best pipeline routing principles. In addition, Uganda has up-to-date stringent laws on the environment and protected areas, which are strictly followed in developing oil and gas projects,” he said.
The European MPs called for an end to human rights violations, including the immediate release of human rights defenders arrested in an arbitrary manner. They also called for prompt, fair and adequate compensation for those expropriated or deprived of access to their land by the EACOP project.
In response to this, the Minister said, a specific Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) was undertaken, and targeted measures were put in place to address any potential adverse effects on land-based livelihoods as part of the project. He added that his Ministry strongly disagrees with the “misleading narrations” of human rights abuses detailed in the resolution about oil and gas projects.
On matters compensation and relocation, Lokeris said these are being undertaken in accordance with the Ugandan law, cultural and traditional livelihood practices of the Project Affected Persons (PAPs), and in compliance with international standards, including the International Finance Corporation and Equator Principles.
He said that farming communities have been provided equitable arable land to continue their traditional income-generating practices, while others have been skilled to prepare them for jobs in upcoming infrastructure projects and other related activities.
“There is, therefore, verifiable evidence that the livelihoods of project affected persons have improved because of the projects.”
He said that EACOP in Uganda affected 3,648 PAPS (not 100,000 as claimed by the EU Parliament), of which 2,662 have already signed compensation agreements and 1,977 fully paid.
The project, he said is also constructing 183 replacement houses for the PAPs who opted for physical resettlement contrary to the claims in the EU Parliament’s resolution.
“Ugandans are already reaping benefits from the progress of the oil activities, with 160,000 people expected to be employed at the peak of activities. Currently, 5,000 people are employed, of which 94% are Ugandans. In addition, international development partners such as the World Bank are supporting targeted skilling and infrastructure developments where oil and gas activities are taking place to enable the citizens and communities maximally benefit from the sector’s activities,” he said.
The resolution angered the Government of Uganda, and two protests, including one organised by a students’ union have taken place near the offices of the European Union Delegation in Kampala.
The 1,445km heated EACOP which is the longest in the world will transport Uganda’s crude oil from Hoima District in Uganda up to the port of Tanga in Tanzania for export to that international market.
The construction of EACOP will cost cost 3.5 billion dollars.
The project is implemented by four shareholders who include; Total Energies which is the majority shareholder, CNOOC, Government of Uganda through Uganda National Oil Company and the Tanzanian Government.
Since February 2022, when the Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) were announced, the TotalEnergies and CNOOC through the established tendering processes, have awarded contracts totaling to about USD 6.8 billion, of which an estimated USD 1.73 Billion (25%) have been awarded to Ugandan companies, according to Minister Lokeris.
On matters environment and climate change, the Minister said Uganda’s oil projects have been designed to technologically generate the lowest possible carbon footprint.
“Overall, the projects fall within the category of “low emission”. The carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emission per barrel for Uganda’s upstream and midstream projects is estimated to be 20-45 kgCO2e. This is well below the global average of 70-100 kgCO₂,” he said.
Uganda’s recoverable oil resources are currently estimated at 1.4 billion barrels.
“Assuming an average of 30 kgCO2e per barrel, the total emissions are estimated at 42 mTCO2e over the production period of 25 years which is an average of 1.68mT per year (not 34mT as stated in the European Parliament Resolution). More so, 80% of Uganda’s energy is from renewable sources such as hydro-power, solar and biomass. The country has been promoting other clean energy initiatives with many development partners, including the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ),” Lokeris said.
