The compensation of persons affected by the East African Crude Oil Pipeline project (EACOP) stands at 98 per cent completion, according to the Director Economic and National Content Monitoring at the Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU), Peninah Aheebwa.
The revelation follows concerns raised by Kalungu West County MP, Hon. Joseph Ssewungu on the matter.
“There are some people who have been raising issues of compensation and they are telling me they have not yet been compensated. We have seen challenges like vandalism in Nigeria’s oil mining industry, which we need to avoid here,” said Ssewungu.
Aheebwa noted that the compensations were carried out in line with national requirements and IFC standards which are an international benchmark for managing environmental and social risks in private sector projects.
“Everyone has been compensated to the best of their satisfaction, in our view. This is highly monitored by the lenders of this project, and they do not entertain anything that is not satisfactory,” she noted.
Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee (Central Government) on Wednesday, 11 March 2026, Aheebwa said Uganda expects to see first oil by the end of July 2026.
First oil is the milestone date when a new oil well or field officially begins production, commissioning and exporting its first commercial cargo of hydrocarbons, a transition from testing to active operation.
“Our first major project is Tilenga which required 170 wells, and we have already done 198. For the Kingfisher project, we required 19 wells for first oil and we have achieved 21 so far. So in terms of drilling, we have reached what is required,” Aheebwa said.
She noted that overall completion in terms of central processing facilities and feeder lines for the Tilenga and Kingfisher projects stands at 67 per cent and 77 per cent respectively, whereas the EACOP is at 81 per cent.
“We have been operating two shifts of field work on the Tilenga project but we are increasing them to three with eight hours on each shift, so that we can meet the target of end of July this year,” Aheebwa added.
Hon. Basil Bataringaya (NRM, Kashari North County) queried the amount of recoverable costs owed by the Authority and how they will be paid.
“There has been mention of an audit of 2021 that states how much money is to be paid to the oil companies, yet we are in 2026. This is a key sector in which we are spending colossal sums of money, so why there is a lag in audit?” Bataringaya asked.
Aheebwa noted that close to US$12.3 billion has been spent in the sector, adding that not all of it will be recoverable by ordinary costs.
“For the EACOP, the money is recovered through the tariff. So far, US$3.5 billion out the total cost has been spent on the pipeline and will be recovered through the tariffs on US$12.77 per barrel that is shipped through the pipeline,” Aheebwa said.
She said a 2021 report of the Auditor General indicated that US$3.4 billion was claimed by oil companies handling the projects that include TotalEnergies EP Uganda, CNOOC Uganda Limited, Uganda National Oil Company and China Oilfield Services Limited Uganda.
“Out of this figure, US$2.9 billion was approved for recovery (87 per cent) and US$439 million was disallowed (13 per cent). But the total investment of US$12.3 billion is up to 2025, some of which is not covered in the available audit,” Aheebwa said.
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