UGANDA

UGANDA -- Total has moved closer to sanctioning the long-awaited Lake Albert oil development after signing a package of agreements with the presidents of Uganda and Tanzania to build a pipeline to transport the oil to Tanzania's coast. A final investment decision on the $15 billion Lake Albert project now appears to be a formality for Total (56.67%) and its partners, China's CNOOC (28.33%) and Uganda National Oil Corp. (15%) (IOD Sep.14'20). Total says the consortium will award the first engineering, procurement and construction contracts for the project "shortly," with first oil due to be exported via the 1,400 km pipeline in early 2025. The Lake Albert project is divided into two parts, with Total overseeing development of the larger Tilenga oil field and CNOOC leading the work on the Kingfisher field. The two fields are expected to reach a combined plateau of around 230,000 b/d, with the oil carried by the East Africa pipeline from landlocked Uganda to the port of Tanga on the Indian Ocean. The recent progress follows year of painstaking negotiations with the government and it shows that companies are still willing to invest in big oil development projects despite efforts to transition from fossil fuels to low-carbon energy (PIW Mar.12'18).