Uganda pushes first commercial oil to June 2027 as EACOP misses 1 October start

Uganda has moved its first commercial oil target to before the end of June 2027, and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) has missed its planned 1 October start of operations. Officials now say the pipeline will only be ready to receive crude by mid-December 2026, according to reports from mid-September and an update published on 1 October.

Briefing to Parliament

The new date was given to Parliament's finance committee by Finance Minister Henry Musasizi on 11 September 2026, according to a report by Serrari Group. Michael Ochan, acting executive director of the Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU), told MPs that 1,414 kilometres of the 1,443-kilometre pipeline had been completed and buried, The Observer reported.

MP Patrick Oshabe Nsamba asked officials for specific months, saying: "So that Ugandans may know, is it in March when we have the first oil? Is it in April? Is it in January?"

What is behind the delay

Green Building Africa reports that the slippage is driven by delays in specialised equipment and critical systems needed for commissioning. It says the PAU pointed to disruptions in deliveries linked to the Middle East conflict, including parts for metering, electrical instrumentation and telecoms systems.

The line is to carry crude from Hoima in Uganda to Chongoleani, in Tanzania's Tanga region. The Observer reports that Uganda's first oil was initially expected around 2018, and the target was then moved to 2020 and 2025. It says that in May 2025 the then Energy Minister, Ruth Nankabirwa, moved the target to June 2026, and that in March 2026 the PAU told Parliament's Public Accounts Committee to expect first oil by the end of July 2026.

Mixed signals from Tanzania

Tanzania Insight, in an article dated 22 September 2026, put EACOP at 92.7 per cent complete. It reported, citing Mussa Makame, managing director of the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC), that first oil is expected to arrive at a pumping station in Uganda in December 2026 and reach the Tanzanian coast in February 2027. The article also says the first tanker loading is scheduled to begin in March 2027.

That is earlier than the June 2027 date given in Kampala for first commercial oil. Serrari Group notes that crude entering the pipeline, expected by mid-December, is not the same milestone as first commercial oil and export, which is targeted for June 2027. Neither Tanzania Insight nor Serrari Group explains the gap between the March and June 2027 dates.

Tanzania Insight also says that once crude reaches Chongoleani, it will be stored in four tanks with a combined capacity of 2 million barrels, and that more than 10,000 jobs have been created, 7,500 of them going to Tanzanian nationals.

Project partners

China's CNOOC is a joint-venture partner in the project, alongside TotalEnergies, TPDC and Uganda's national oil company, according to Tanzania Insight.

What happens next

The next checkpoint is mid-December 2026, when officials say the pipeline should be ready to receive crude. Whether June 2027 holds will depend on delivery of the remaining equipment and on commissioning.