According to a September 2024 report by the International Monetary Fund, Uganda will join the league of oil-producing countries in late 2025. A $10-billion joint venture by Total Energies, Uganda National Oil Company, Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation and China National Offshore Oil Company will begin pumping crude oil from fields around Lake Albert in the northwest of the African country. A 1,443-kilometre (896-mile) pipeline is currently under construction to pump the black gold to Tanzania’s coastal port of Tanga and, at its peak production, the Uganda Oil Project will pump 84.4-million barrels of oil annually. An oil refinery is also slated for completion in 2027.
East Africa consumes nearly 200,000 barrels of refined petroleum products daily, presenting an opportunity for Uganda to fill its treasury with much-needed cash and reduce its energy-import bill. However, the project has not come without controversy. Conservationists claim it has negatively impacted ecosystems and displaced more than 120,000 people from their land in Uganda and Tanzania.
The project’s proponents point to hypocrisy from Western conservationists, arguing that the West pushes green policies on Africa that it happily flouts itself. Take coal, for instance: when Africans produce it, it’s harmful stuff we should all stop using; but when there’s an energy crisis in Europe, suddenly it’s fine again.What are your thoughts? Leave your comments below.