AfrOil: EACOP reportedly close to signing pipe supply deals

The consortium set up to build and operate the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) is reportedly close to finalising arrangements with future suppliers of steel pipe.

According to Martin Tiffen, the general manager of the consortium, TotalEnergies (France) and the other investors in EACOP are still waiting to sign the main supply agreements for the pipeline, which will carry crude from western Uganda to Tanzania’s Indian Ocean coast. Tiffen said, though, that the group had “identified four key contractors who are working under conditional award.” A number of steel mills and pipe suppliers around the world have already indicated that they are ready to meet EACOP’s specifications and delivery deadlines, he stated, without naming any potential partners.

In the meantime, he reported, Uganda’s government is working to move forward with land acquisition processes along the proposed route of the pipeline. Officials in Kampala are focusing on taking control of the sites needed for high-priority facilities such as construction yards, piping yards, a thermal insulation plant and the main work camp, he noted.