Uganda’s planned $4 billion crude export pipeline funding campaigns to end by November

Uganda said it expects all possible lenders for the country’s $4 billion oil export pipeline to commit by the end of November, paving the way for a production start-up date of early 2025.

Negotiations with dozens of financial institutions to participate in the 1,443-kilometer (897-mile) conduit from Uganda’s oil resources to Tanzania’s port of Tanga continue, according to Peter Muliisa, chief legal and corporate affairs officer for Uganda National Oil Co.

Only a handful of the 66 lenders who showed an interest in assisting with the project’s financing did not return the required paperwork.

According to UNOC, a project partner, the East African Crude Oil Export Pipeline, which would have a daily capacity of 216,000 barrels per day, will be financed on a 40% to 60% equity-debt ratio. The connection is intended to transport Uganda’s oil to foreign markets.

When it authorized $100 million for EACOP over the weekend, the Islamic Development Bank became the project’s first lender to commit funds.

TotalEnergies SE is in charge of project development, with a 62% share in the cross-border pipeline. UNOC and Tanzania Petroleum Development Corp. both control 15% of the company, with the remainder held by China’s Cnooc Ltd.