The Tanzanian government gave approval for the controversial East African Crude Oil Pipeline earlier this week, paving the way for the 900-mile project to be built. Once built, the heated underground pipeline — the longest of its kind — will carry crude oil from one of the world’s most biodiverse regions along Lake Albert in Uganda to a port on the Tanzanian coast. The Ugandan government approved the pipeline last month. The pipeline, which will require displacing at least 13,000 households, threatens the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people along the pipeline’s route. Advocates criticize the project as merely another example of foreign extraction of African resources with little-to-no-regard for local communities. Backed by French oil major TotalEnergies and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, EACOP backers have struggled to secure financial backing, with at least 21 major insurance and reinsurance firms refusing to underwrite the project. (AFP via Barron’s, Business Insider – Africa)
