The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) has launched a coating factory, which will oversee the thermal insulation and coating of all pipe sections imported from China for the pipeline, allowing Ugandan crude oil to be transported safely down the 1,443-kilometer route to the Tanzanian coast for export.
Following coating, the 18-meter pipe pieces will be sent to major camps and pipe yards along the pipeline course for final assembling before burying.
The inauguration event also included the signing of land leasing agreements between EACOP and the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC), which came after Tanzania’s land acquisition and compensation procedure was completed with Uganda nearing completion.
The ceremony was attended by high-ranking officials, including Tanzania’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy, Doto Mashaka Biteko, Uganda’s Energy Minister Ruth Nankwabira, EACOP executives, contractors, and local leaders.
Dr. Biteko expressed delight in the Thermal Insulation Workshop’s opening, emphasising its importance in expanding infrastructural capacities and boosting regional economic growth and development. Ms. Nankwabira emphasised the initiative’s importance in improving energy security and promoting regional collaboration.
The coating facility was built and will be run by EACOP’s level one contractor, Wasco Isoaf, a joint venture of local and foreign enterprises.
Source: Energy Ghana