French based energy major TotalEnergies and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) have announced the Final Investment Decision (FID) for the Lake Albert Development in Uganda. Having reached a deal with the governments of Uganda and Tanzania, TotalEnergies and CNOOC have officially launched the large-scale oil project at a cost of approximately $10 billion.
Comprising the TotalEnergies operated Tilenga project; the CNOOC operated Kingfisher project; and the construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline – owned by TotalEnergies (62%), the Uganda National Oil Company (15%), the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (15%) and CNOOC (8%) – the Lake Albert Development FID marks a milestone in the development of a viable East African energy market. With total production estimated at 230,000 barrels per day for the Tilenga and Kingfisher projects, development is on track to start producing in 2025.
Patrick Poyanné, Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies stated that “With today’s signing of a framework agreement on renewable energy, we are laying the foundation to implement our multi-energy strategy in Uganda and contribute to people’s access to energy.”
By working closely with the authorities associated with nature conservation in both countries, implementing project activities in collaboration with communities and under supervision of an independent institution, developers have placed an emphasis on the social and environmental impact of projects of this size.
“The development of Lake Albert resources is a major project for Uganda and Tanzania, and our ambition is to make it an exemplary project in terms of shared prosperity and sustainable development. We are fully aware of the important social and environmental challenges it represents. We will pay particular attention to use local skills, to develop them through training programs, to boost the local industrial sector in order to maximize the positive local return of this project,” Pouyanné added.
Meanwhile, TotalEnergies and the Ugandan government have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the development of renewable energy projects in the country. With targets to develop 1GW of installed capacity, the MoU aims to improve energy access and security while aligning with TotalEnergies’ multi-energy strategy in Africa.