Under pressure from a hundred African NGOs, banks canceled their loan promises to Total for the construction of an East African pipeline of nearly 1 kilometers.
NGOs from 49 countries, including 122 organizations based in Africa, have attempted to warn of the threats of a pipeline project in East Africa. 1 kilometers long, this mega-project plans to cross several countries: Uganda, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya. But, warns Natural Justice, a group of lawyers who act in favor of communities and the environment, but also for "the self-determination of indigenous peoples", this pipeline would represent a danger "for local communities, water supply and biodiversity" in these different countries.
A project in which we find the multinational Total, pinned by the NGO Reclaim Finance. The pipeline is to connect the Hoima refinery in Uganda to the port of Tanga in Tanzania. On his website, Total recalls that "the Lake Albert region in Uganda contains significant oil resources, estimated at more than one billion barrels". The multinational then specifies “Uganda wanted to develop them, through the Tilenga projects, operated by Total and Kingfisher, operated by CNOOC. The production will be transported to the port of Tanga in Tanzania by a cross-border pipeline, built and operated by the company EACOP (East African Crude Oil Pipeline) ”.
Several banks withdraw from the project
The NGOs are standing up against this project. Even Total admits that “the projects for the development of petroleum resources in the Lake Albert region and for cross-border pipelines are part of a sensitive societal and environmental context which requires specific measures in terms of the environment and respect for rights. communities ”. But in East Africa, no one believes the promises of the oil company. And the NGOs, in a statement dated March 1, officially asked the 25 banks ready to invest in this pipeline, not to release the funds promised. They are also asking Total for “full and fair” compensation for the dislodged communities and the development of renewable energies.
A pressure which, little by little, undermines the pipeline project, which still requires the contribution of 2,5 billion dollars, the project being estimated at 3,5 billion. Because a dozen banks have already backed down. Like the Italian bank UniCredit, specifies the Ecofin agency. "We confirm that UniCredit has strict policies in place to prevent the bank from financing transactions that present environmental risks and that violate human rights in any way," said Tuulike Tuulas, communications manager at within the Italian institution. Several other French banks - BNP Paribas, Société Générale and Crédit Agricole -, Swiss or Australian have also revised their promises to Total. A hard blow for the French oil company.
Total assures us on its site that it has set up "a land acquisition program according to the best international standards", and that it pays "close attention to respecting the rights of the communities concerned". Total's projects, assures the multinational, are “in line with our environmental commitments”. Insufficient: even Barclays bank withdrew from the project. If Emmanuel Macron has promised to work in favor of the pipeline project, for the moment, it is at a standstill. The other banks alerted by the NGOs put their final decision on hold. But the action of the various organizations has, for the moment, borne fruit and will oblige Total and the various stakeholders, if the project is successful, to achieve a certain degree of transparency.