Total and CNOOC ready for Ugandan crude exports via pipeline to Tanzania

Aframaxes are set to haul crude from landlocked Uganda following news of a major pipeline construction across East Africa.

France’s Total and China’s state controlled CNOOC, in tandem with the Ugandan and Tanzanian governments, will invest $3.5bn on a 1,445 km pipeline running from western Uganda’s oil fields to the Tanzanian port of Tanga.

“Aframax tankers are expected to be loaded for onward transportation, with refineries in Asia and possibly the Middle East the likely destinations,” suggested Alphatanker in a new report.

According to Total’s CEO, the whole project, including upstream expenses, will cost around $10bn and should see crude production eventually hit 230,000 barrels per day. The pipeline is expected to be commissioned in 2024.