The Government of Uganda has vehemently criticized the European Parliament Resolution which calls for the halting of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project.
The Minister of State for Energy and Mineral Development, Peter Teko Lokeris while addressing reporters on the matter on Tuesday, 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 on Tuesday.
The European Parliament on September 15, 2022, the passed an “emergency resolution” by a large majority denouncing the consequences of Uganda’s oil projects— specifically Tilenga and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).
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 E&P 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.