A Paris court held a crucial hearing this week in a campaigner’s bid for accountability from French energy multinational TotalEnergies over its contentious oil project in Uganda.
The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project, which is under the leadership of Guillaume Dulout as Managing Director and John Bosco Habumugisha in Uganda as General Manager/Deputy Managing Director, has sparked intense debate and concern among environmentalists and human rights activists.
In the recent past, many Ugandan activists have been arrested for protesting against the EACOP and currently, at least 11 Anti EACOP Activists who were arrested at KCB Bank Uganda for leading a non-violent protest petitioning the involvement of bank’s in partially funding EACOP are on remand at Luzira maximum security prison on charges of criminal trespass.
But the protests against EACOP are not only in Uganda, because they have since spread across the globe to other parts of the world, including Europe and America. In March last year, for instance, over 100 activists from Extinction Rebellion (XR) and Totalement Down obstructed access to Marsh Insurance Company’s Herman Debroux Avenue office in the Brussels municipality of Auderghem on Thursday morning, demanding the firm’s withdrawal from the EACOP project.
It is these concerns about human rights issues in project-affected areas that are keeping TotalEnergies in and out of court.
Banks Reject EACOP Funding
It is important to note that as of September 2024, the total number of banks globally that had publicly committed not to finance the EACOP stood at 27, including 13 headquartered in Europe.
A report by Bank Track dated November 21, 2024, indicates that since then, Bank Track has analysed the policies of the largest 50 banks headquartered in Europe by assets, and identified eight additional banks with policies or regional approaches that would preclude finance for EACOP.
As such, letters were sent by Bank Track and partner organisations to all remaining European banks on this list. Following this, seven more European banks confirmed they would not be financing the project. These were: Bank of Ireland (Ireland), BBVA (Spain), Erste Group (Austria), KBC (Belgium), NatWest (UK), Nordea (Finland) and Raiffeisen Bank International (Austria).
Just this week, Union Investment, one of the world’s top 20 global investors, decided to remove TotalEnergies from its sustainable investment funds because of EACOP.
Ownership of the EACOP Project
The EACOP project is set to be the longest heated oil pipeline in the world, stretching approximately 1,500 kilometres through East Africa.
TotalEnergies owns 62%, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) owns 8%, Uganda National Pipeline Company owns 15%, while Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation owns a 15% stake.
The project’s vast scope and potential environmental impact have raised concerns among campaigners, who are pushing for greater accountability from TotalEnergies.
Campaigners’ Concerns
The campaigners’ push for accountability highlights the potential risks and consequences of the EACOP project, including environmental degradation, displacement of local communities, and human rights violations.
The hearing in Paris marks a significant step in the campaigners’ efforts to hold TotalEnergies accountable for its actions.
The hearing in Paris marks a significant moment in the campaigners’ push for accountability from TotalEnergies over its Uganda oil project.
Future of Oil and Gas Sector Uncertain
Following the latest developments about TotalEnergies, all indications are that the operationalisation of the EACOP project is bound to be impeded by several challenges, which are likely to affect the projected first crude oil production in 2026.
As such, the future of Uganda’s oil and gas sector hangs in the balance due to ongoing challenges and controversies surrounding the EACOP project.