Funded by the Chinese, Total's new pipeline will carry heavy crude through some of the most diverse and protected habitats remaining on the continent. Governments of Uganda and Tanzania have signed off on the $3.5 billion project subject to ratification by those nation's parliaments. The proposed pipeline runs from the Lake Albert basin in Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda to Tanzania's Port Tanga on the Indian Ocean. Plans are to heat the pipeline to facilitate transportation of the viscous crude oil from 130 wells. Both Tanzania and Uganda are minority shareholders in the project, primarily funded by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and French Total, SA.
Murchison Falls is Uganda's largest national park and home to elephants, lions, Nile River crocodiles, chimpanzees and 400 bird species. Consevationists say the pipeline will disrupt the ecosystem but will also contribute to global warming. Total officials maintain they are committed to responsible development and transparent process. However, a coalition of NGOs opposing the pipeline says the planning process has been opaque throughout, disregarding judicial and parliamentary procedures. The text of the international agreement has not been made public. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who has led Uganda since 1986, said of his challengers in the country’s 2016 presidential election that, “They are targeting my oil."
The project is intended to cross numerous waterways including the Kagera River in Uganda. In Tanzania, it is planned to cross seven protect forest areas, and the Wembere Steppe, a recognized area of high biodiversity. Port Tanga abuts two ecologically sensitive marine areas. An estimated 12,000 families will be displaced by the project. Despite these and other adverse impacts governments in developing nations see these mega development projects as a means of securing their nation's economic future. Falling crude prices in recent years have created anxiety among project backers, but hopes have remained high in Uganda over the potential for oil exports to lift the East African country into upper middle-income status by 2040. Annual per capita income in Uganda was less than $800 in 2019.
Total has offered to limit the amount of its production from the basin to less than 1% of protected areas and fund a 50% increase in the number of rangers protecting the park. Opponents have rebuffed these concessions as insufficient to address concerns about global warming and habitat loss. In attempting to stop the project from gong forward at warp speed, conservation advocates are lobbying banks, insurance companies and investors to block funding. An open letter signed by 250 civil society organizations called on 25 commercial banks to not fund the project. The effort caused two of Total’s key financiers, Barclays and Credit Suisse, to deny any intention of funding the project. The letter emphasized that the economics of continuing to burn fossil fuels are not favorable, which is causing the price of oil to plummet. The first export of Ugandan crude is planned for 2025.