EACOP receives huge boost as first oil rig arrives at Mombasa

The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) has reached yet another milestone with the arrival of its first oil rig.

According to the Chinese oil and gas company CNOOC Uganda Limited's social media platforms, the oil rig arrived in Mombasa in the early hours of Thursday.

CNOOC is one of two licenced oil companies in the Albertine that will work on Uganda's EACOP project.

The company announced that their oil rig, built in China, is now in Mombasa and ready for transport into Uganda.

“Steps to first oil. @CNOOCUgandaLtd Kingfisher oilfield rig reaches Mombasa port and will soon be in Uganda. We are committed to delivering first oil to Uganda and there’s no turning back,” the company announced in a Tweet.

According to CNOOC, the rig has been "customised" for its KingFisher wells on Lake Albert.

According to them, the rig is a "fully automated" silent rig that is outfitted with industry-leading technologies such as well site de-noising control, a zero discharge system, and a pipe column automation system.

TotalEnergies, which operates the Tilenga oil field north of Kingfisher, also announced late last month that its own rig (ZPEB Rig 1501) had passed its endurance test and was ready to ship.

The 1,445-kilometer-long East African Crude Oil Pipeline that draws crude oil from wells in western Uganda in Hoima district to Tanzania’s seaport of Tanga has come under heavy criticism from environmental activists.

These argue that the Albertine Graben, where Uganda’s oil and gas activities are concentrated, is one of Africa’s most eco sensitive and biodiverse and therefore has a great negative impact on climate and wellbeing of the people in the area, if mismanaged.

This website understands that the said graben is home to 70% of Uganda’s national parks. It is also home to over 50% of Africa’s bird species, 39% of Africa’s mammal species, 19% of Africa’s amphibian species, and 14% of Africa’s reptile as well as plant species according to statistics.

The civil society groups argue that the area supports agriculture, tourism, fishing and other important economic activities, and therefore should not be tampered with.

According to Uganda’s Insurance Regulatory Authority(IRA) RA Chief Executive Officer, Ibrahim Kaddunabbi Lubega, the process of insuring the pipeline was completed last month.