Contentious Oil Pipeline Project Faces Renewed Legal Challenges in East Africa
The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), a massive and highly controversial project spearheaded by TotalEnergies, continues to ignite fierce opposition despite construction already underway in Uganda and Tanzania. On Monday, February 24th, the four non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that initiated legal action against the project in 2020 appeared before the East African Court of Justice, pleading for their appeal to be heard.
The NGOs are seeking a halt to the construction of EACOP, a heated pipeline spanning 1,400 kilometers. This pipeline is designed to transport crude oil extracted from the Lake Albert region in Uganda to the port of Tanga in Tanzania for export. The organizations contend that the project violates the treaty establishing the East African Community, to which both Uganda and Tanzania are signatories.
The legal challenge is spearheaded by Afiego (Africa Institute for Energy Governance) and Cefroht (Center for Food and Adequate Living Rights), two Ugandan associations, alongside Natural Justice from Kenya and the Center for Strategic Litigation from Tanzania. In the initial ruling, the regional court dismissed their case, citing a lack of jurisdiction and alleging that the NGOs had failed to meet procedural deadlines.
However, the plaintiffs highlighted a precedent. In 2014, the Tanzanian government was ordered to suspend the construction of a road within Serengeti National Park, deemed a violation of the same treaty due to its potential environmental impact. The NGOs argued that EACOP presents similar, if not greater, environmental and social risks.
The East African Court of Justice, based in Kigali, Rwanda, is expected to issue its ruling within the next one to two months. For the civil society organizations representing communities displaced by the project, this legal action represents a final opportunity to halt the pipeline’s progress through the courts. Twenty-one lawsuits filed in Ugandan courts have already failed. Furthermore, in February 2023, a French court dismissed a case brought by Les Amis de la Terre (Friends of the Earth) and Survie against TotalEnergies, citing a lack of grounds under the French law on the duty of vigilance of parent companies towards their subsidiaries and subcontractors. Another legal procedure has been initiated before the Paris judicial court, this time seeking compensation for damages suffered by individuals impacted by the project. This case is still under investigation.
Dickens Kamugisha, the director of Afiego, voiced the concerns of the impacted communities at a press conference following the hearing in Kigali. "People have lost all or part of their land without receiving fair compensation, families can no longer afford to feed themselves, children are dropping out of school, and natural environments are being destroyed by drilling wells installed in Murchison Falls National Park. The pipeline will traverse forests, protected areas, and run alongside Lake Victoria… This project goes against the Paris Agreement on climate change, which our countries have signed. We want the court to examine its human, environmental, and climatic costs," he stated.
He emphasized the broader significance of their struggle, regardless of the legal outcome. "Whether we win or lose, it is also important to make our voices heard and to raise awareness among the citizens of East Africa about the danger that continued fossil fuel exploitation poses to their lives," Kamugisha added. "Rich countries have the means to adapt to climate change. We, the poorest, do not, and we suffer the most violent effects. We cannot dissuade Donald Trump from restarting oil exploitation, but we have the right to tell the United States and other rich countries that they must stop destroying the planet."
The construction of the EACOP pipeline and the associated oil production units, including the Tilenga oil field operated by TotalEnergies and the Kingfisher field operated by the Chinese company Cnooc, are impacting over 110,000 people. The Ugandan government envisions the project as a catalyst for the country’s development, projecting an extraction rate of 240,000 barrels per day over a 25-year period. After facing several years of delays, construction finally commenced in 2023.
TotalEnergies reported that by the end of January, all infrastructure for the Tilenga project was under construction. This includes the crude oil processing plant, worker accommodation, roads, buried pipelines, and storage tanks. One hundred wells have been drilled out of the planned 400. Three hundred kilometers of pipeline have been constructed, and installation has begun in both Tanzania and Uganda. Work is also underway on the six pumping stations planned along the pipeline route. The total cost of the project is estimated at $10 billion (9.5 billion euros).
The EACOP project has drawn widespread criticism from environmental and human rights organizations, raising concerns about displacement, environmental degradation, and the contribution to climate change. Critics argue that the project will exacerbate existing vulnerabilities in the region and undermine efforts to transition to a more sustainable energy future. The legal challenges before the East African Court of Justice represent a crucial battle in the ongoing struggle to hold corporations accountable for the social and environmental impacts of their operations and to protect the rights of communities affected by large-scale development projects. The outcome of the case will have significant implications for the future of fossil fuel development in East Africa and beyond.
