Written By John Mutiso | |
French and Chinese oil giants said Tuesday they had sealed a landmark $10 billion deal to develop Uganda’s energy resources and build a vast regional oil pipeline.
The so-called Final Investment Decision was announced at a ceremony in Kampala by the heads of France’s Total and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).
“Today is the day we commit to invest $10 billion in the Tilenga and Kingfisher projects and the 1,443 km long pipeline,” Total’s chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanne said in a statement.
Pouyanne described the controversial pipeline as a “masterpiece” of a project, although critics charge that it threatens livelihoods and fragile ecosystems in the heart of Africa.
“From today with the FID, the project will fully enter into the construction phase,” he said.
The project aims to exploit the huge crude oil reserves at Lake Albert, a 160-kilometre (100-mile) natural border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
CNOOC Uganda president Chen Zhuobiao said: “Achieving FID is a first step towards achieving first oil and unlocking opportunities for investment and development of Uganda and the whole region.”
The ceremony was also attended by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Tanzania’s Vice President Philip Mpango.
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