Uganda pins hopes on burgeoning oil industry

Uganda pins hopes on burgeoning oil industry

The world’s longest heated oil pipeline is set to cross Christine Nyangoma’s one-acre farm in Uganda, displacing her and thousands of others and, critics argue, depriving them of their livelihoods.

“I planted beans, but had to stop planting bananas and cassava that will take longer to grow because they told me construction may start soon,” Nyangoma said, adding that income from those crops helped pay for her children’s school and the family food bill. Wherever she is relocated, she wants it to be far from oil developments: “I hear oil impacts the environment.” 

Since oil was discovered in the Albertine rift basin near the Democratic Republic of Congo 15 years ago, President Yoweri Museveni has hoped it will propel the country into upper middle-income status. Though the economy has grown reasonably fast in recent years, annual per capita income is just over $800.

Finally, after years of delay because of regulatory hold-ups and complaints about lack of transparency, Uganda, Tanzania and French oil company Total agreed to build a $3.5bn heated pipeline to connect oilfields near Lake Albert to the Tanzanian seaport of Tanga. Construction could start as soon as this year, leading to the creation of tens of thousands of jobs.

“This pipeline