By Melody David
Dar es Salaam — The work towards the construction of a crude oil pipeline between Uganda and Tanzania is officially on, with project the developers inviting reputable contractors to undertake a social and resettlement plan.
To be known as East African Crude Oil Pipeline, the project – which will transport Ugandan crude to Tanga Port in Tanzania – will be built jointly by a French oil giant Total SA, the UK-based Tullow Oil and and Chinese state-owned oil company Cnooc Ltd.
Total E&P Uganda – an oil and gas exploration company which is a subsidiary of Total SA – said in a statement yesterday that it wants reputable and experienced contractors to express their interests in carrying out the social and resettlement planning services for the Tanzania part of the East African Crude Oil Pipe line (EACOP) project that is scheduled to start in January 2017.
“Resettlement planning is scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2017 and shall comply with Tanzania legal and regulatory requirements and international best practices,” the statement reads.
According to the statement, the social and resettlement planning services will include preparatory work for land access. It also encompasses resettlement and livelihood restoration planning for temporary and permanent facilities as well as field surveys that will help the contractor to ascertain the costs of the project on the socioeconomic, asset and cadastral amenities to be covered by the affected areas.
Among other issues, the contractor will be required to engage and consult with stakeholders in the areas to be affected. Uganda has over 6.5 billion barrels of proven oil reserves of which about 2.2 billion barrels are recoverable. The estimated cost of the project is $4 billion. It will create approximately 15 ,000 constructing jobs and between 1, 000 – 2 ,000 permanent jobs.
In Tanzania, the project comprises 1110 km of 24 buried isolated pipeline plus various above ground facilities and a marine storage terminal with export facilities near Tanga Port.