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EACOP delay raises fresh questions over Uganda’s oil project, campaigners say – EnviroNews
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The latest delay to the commissioning of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) has renewed concerns over the project’s environmental and social risks, with campaigners insisting that the postponement shows affected communities can still influence its future.
The 1,443-kilometre pipeline was originally expected to open on October 1, 2026, with earlier plans targeting the first export cargo for the same month. However, Ugandan government officials now say the pipeline will be ready to receive crude by mid-December, while first commercial oil production has been pushed to before the end of June 2027.
The latest postponement adds to a long series of revised deadlines for Uganda’s oil industry. First oil was initially expected around 2018, before successive targets were shifted to 2020, 2025, 2026 and now 2027.
Campaigners opposing EACOP said the delays demonstrate that the project is not yet a foregone conclusion, despite claims by its political and industry backers that construction is nearing completion.
They noted that achieving commercial production involves more than completing the pipeline, stressing that Uganda’s oil fields, central processing facilities, pumping infrastructure and export terminal must all be properly tested and commissioned before crude can be exported.
According to the campaigners, reports of delays involving specialised equipment and critical systems have contributed to the missed first-oil targets.
The Petroleum Authority of Uganda has attributed some disruptions to equipment deliveries to the war in the Middle East, including delays involving parts required for metering, electrical instrumentation and telecommunications systems.
StopEACOP Campaign Coordinator, Zaki Mamadoo, said the latest delay demonstrated that the future of the project remained subject to scrutiny and resistance from affected communities and campaigners.
“The project developers and their allies would have us believe that because construction is nearing completion, EACOP is a done deal, but this delay reminds us that nothing about this project is inevitable,” Mamadoo said.
He said the campaign against EACOP would continue, including efforts to challenge its financing and hold those responsible for alleged harms to account.
“A pipeline can be built and still be fought, financing can still be challenged, those responsible for its harms can still be brought to account, and communities, out of an even sharper necessity, will continue to organise in defence of their land, livelihoods and future,” he said.
The campaigners also raised concerns that pressure to meet the revised 2027 production target could increase environmental risks during testing and commissioning of the facilities.
They warned that rushed pre-commissioning activities at central processing facilities could heighten the risk of toxic spills, gas flaring and wastewater releases, particularly around sensitive ecosystems near Lake Albert and Murchison Falls.
Beyond environmental concerns, they argued that delays to oil production were occurring alongside continuing difficulties for communities affected by land acquisition and displacement, including alleged loss of livelihoods and inadequate compensation.
East Africa Programme Manager at 350.org, Rukiya Khamis, said the delay should prompt a broader discussion about the region’s energy future.
“This latest delay is another reminder that East Africa’s energy future does not have to be tied to expensive, extractive mega-projects like EACOP,” Khamis said.
She advocated greater investment in distributed renewable energy, including solar, hydro and wind, alongside stronger electricity transmission and distribution networks, battery storage and policies supporting affordable, locally owned clean energy.
According to her, energy security should be measured by people’s access to reliable, affordable and clean electricity rather than the volume of oil a country can export.
Meanwhile, Recheal Tugume, a community leader from Hoima, Uganda, said the latest postponement was significant for communities that had opposed the pipeline for years, but stressed that the delay was not a reason to end their campaign.
“For communities that have spent years resisting EACOP, this delay matters. But we’re not celebrating a missed deadline and walking away,” Tugume said.
She said the focus should now extend to the safety of the entire oil production and export system and the implementation of environmental and social commitments made to affected communities.
“As this project nears commissioning and operation, accountability becomes key,” she said.
“The question is no longer simply whether the pipeline can be built, but whether the entire system can be operated safely, whether environmental and social commitments to affected communities will be honored, and who will be held responsible when they’re not.”
The campaigners’ comments come as Uganda and its partners move closer to completing the infrastructure required to begin commercial oil production, amid continuing debate over the project’s economic benefits, environmental implications and impact on communities along its route.
