Uganda pushes first commercial oil to June 2027 as EACOP misses 1 October start

Uganda has moved its first commercial oil target to before the end of June 2027, and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) has missed its planned 1 October start of operations. Officials now say the pipeline will only be ready to receive crude by mid-December 2026, according to reports from mid-September and an update published on 1 October.

The new date was given to Parliament's finance committee by Finance Minister Henry Musasizi on 11 September 2026, according to a report by Serrari Group. Michael Ochan, acting executive director of the Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU), told MPs that 1,414 kilometres of the 1,443-kilometre pipeline had been completed and buried, The Observer reported.

MP Patrick Oshabe Nsamba asked officials for specific months, saying: "So that Ugandans may know, is it in March when we have the first oil? Is it in April? Is it in January?"

Green Building Africa reports that the slippage is driven by delays in specialised equipment and critical systems needed for commissioning. The PAU pointed to disruptions in deliveries linked to the Middle East conflict, including parts for metering, electrical instrumentation and telecoms systems.

The line is to carry crude from Hoima in Uganda to Chongoleani, in Tanzania's Tanga region. Uganda's first oil was initially expected around 2018, and the target was then moved to 2020 and 2025. In May 2025 the then Energy Minister, Ruth Nankabirwa, moved the target to June 2026, and in March 2026 the PAU told Parliament's Public Accounts Committee to expect first oil by the end of July 2026.

Tanzania Insight, in an article dated 22 September 2026, put EACOP at 92.7 per cent complete. It reported, citing Mussa Makame, managing director of the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC), that first oil is expected to arrive at a pumping station in Uganda in December 2026 and reach the Tanzanian coast in February 2027. The first tanker loading is scheduled to begin in March 2027.

Serrari Group notes that crude entering the pipeline, expected by mid-December, is not the same milestone as first commercial oil and export, which is targeted for June 2027.

Tanzania Insight also says that once crude reaches Chongoleani, it will be stored in four tanks with a combined capacity of 2 million barrels, and that more than 10,000 jobs have been created, 7,500 of them going to Tanzanian nationals.

China's CNOOC is a joint-venture partner in the project, alongside TotalEnergies, TPDC and Uganda's national oil company.