By Ali Ssekatawa
It’s a busy morning at Kyotera Main Camp and Pipe Yard (MCPY 4) as heavily loaded trucks arrive, offloading insulated line pipes from the Nzega Coating and Insulation Plant in Tanzania. At the camp entrance, flagmen diligently clear each truck before it proceeds into the yard. Overhead, dark nimbus clouds gather, but they do little to dampen the energy of the enthusiastic Ugandan workforce entrusted with building the 1,443 km East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), a critical infrastructure that will transport Uganda’s crude oil from Hoima to a marine storage and export terminal in Tanga on the Tanzanian coast.
What’s happening here is mirrored across the other three MCPYs, each mandated to supply various construction sites, demarcated as spreads, where clearing and grading, line pipe stringing, pipeline welding, trenching and pipeline lowering are ongoing at different stages and are designed to safely cross rivers and roads. Also under construction are the Above Ground Installations (AGIs) where pumps and associated equipment like power generators, and pig traps are to be installed. Over 90% of the workforce delivering this critical infrastructure are Ugandans. Over 80km of the pipeline in Uganda have now been welded and 100km of the right of way cleared for line pipe stringing and welding.
The overall progress of the EACOP, that now stands at 65%, and the overwhelming participation of Ugandans are not only reason to smile but stands out as a landmark milestone that have overcome setbacks caused by #StopEACOP campaigners, who were ill-bent on frustrating its progress.
Further upstream, the Tilenga Project, which straddles across the River Nile, is progressing rapidly. At the Tilenga Industrial Area, construction of the Central Processing Facility (CPF) is visibly advancing, with structural foundations, pipe racks, and storage tanks nearing taking shape. The Construction Support Base is also a hive of activity, spark flames of welds welcome you as a group of dedicated men and women go about their work of joint welding, scaffolding, pipe fitting, fabrication, coating, and painting works that present a vibrant picture of the project progress.
Across the Nile, rig operations have gained momentum, with over 140 development wells drilled out of the 150 required for First Oil. In total, approximately 420 wells will be drilled over the life of the Tilenga Project. Currently, Tilenga’s overall completion rate is around 60%, with major earthworks and support infrastructure including flowlines, feeder line, access roads, land acquisition, and compensation fully completed.
At the Kingfisher Development Area, which will produce up to 40,000 barrels of crude oil per day at peak, 14 wells out of the 18 required for First Oil, have already been drilled. The Central Processing Facility is now over 90% complete, with mechanical completion anticipated by the end of 2025. Currently Overall progress in the Kingfisher Development Area is on track at around 65%.
In 2013, it was estimated that at peak of the development phase, about 13, 000 people would be employed directly, 42,000 indirectly, and over 105,000 induced/indirect. The numbers have however surpassed these estimates. By end of June 2025, 17,203 (89% Ugandans) were employed directly by the oil and gas sector, with 5269 from the host communities. This level of direct employment is believed to have created 37,663 indirect jobs and 108,075 induced jobs.
Across the three projects, over US$ 21 million (more than 3,013,458 manhours) of funding for training Ugandans has been committed by the tier one contractors through the development phase. In addition, over 13,000 Ugandans have been trained and certified in disciplines including advanced levels of Heavy Goods Vehicle driving (1,685), welding (1,734), electricals (297), civil and building engineering (1,766) instrumentation (79), scaffolding (671), among other trades.
Over 2,424 companies have participated in Tier one and Tier two contracts within Uganda’s oil and gas sector, of which 2,163 (approximately 89.2%) are Ugandan suppliers.
The Licensed Oil Companies have awarded a total of 5,280 contracts valued at US$ 5.255 billion, of which 4,511 contracts worth US$ 2.120 billion (or 40%) have been awarded to Ugandan companies.
The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) collected UGX 37.3 billion in tax revenues from the oil and gas sector from January to May 2025.
Following the signing of the Refinery Implementation Agreement on March 29th, 2025, specific project agreements—including the Crude Supply Agreement, Shareholders Agreement, and Tolling Agreement are currently underway. These agreements will pave the way for the commencement of construction works, which will follow the approval of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA).
We can confidently say that Uganda’s petroleum projects have crossed a critical threshold, signalling irreversible progress towards First Oil, which is expected in Quarter three of 2026. The activities are almost at peak and Uganda’s oil journey is no longer a promise but a fast-approaching reality.
The Author is the Director Legal and Corporate Affairs at the PAU
Great analysis and update of the current state of affairs in Uganda’s Oil and Gas sectore.