The 1,443-kilometre East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) will not receive its first crude until mid-December 2026, with commercial production from Uganda's Lake Albert basin now pushed to before the end of June 2027.

Government officials confirmed the revised schedule in late September, recording the latest in a series of missed targets dating back to an original first-oil goal around 2018. Successive deadlines have slipped through 2020, 2025, 2026, and now 2027.

Why has EACOP slipped again?

The Petroleum Authority of Uganda attributed the latest postponement to disruptions in specialized equipment deliveries linked to the Middle East war, citing parts for metering skids, electrical instrumentation, and telecom systems as the critical-path items. The previous opening target was October 1, 2026.

What still has to be commissioned?

Beyond pipe-laying, the project requires competent testing and commissioning across the full upstream-to-midstream chain:

• Upstream oil fields and Central Processing Facilities (CPFs) around the Lake Albert basin
• The 1,443-km trunkline and pumping infrastructure
• The export terminal on the Tanzanian coast

The EACOP consortium and political backers have begun branding the expected crude as "Pearl Sweet," yet officials acknowledge the Lake Albert and Murchison Falls ecosystems remain exposed during the pre-commissioning window.

How are campaigners reading the slip?

StopEACOP campaign coordinator Zaki Mamadoo framed the delay as proof that the project remains contested: "The project developers and their allies would have us believe that because construction is nearing completion, EACOP is a done deal, but this delay reminds us that nothing about this project is inevitable. A pipeline can be built and still be fought, financing can still be challenged, those responsible for its harms can still be brought to account, and communities, out of an even sharper necessity, will continue to organise in defence of their land, livelihoods and future. We have every intention of seeing that fight through to the very end."

Rukiya Khamis, East Africa programme manager at 350.org, pointed to alternatives: "This latest delay is another reminder that East Africa's energy future does not have to be tied to expensive, extractive mega-projects like EACOP. If we are serious about building a resilient region, we need to rethink what energy progress looks like. Small, distributed solar, hydro and wind can tackle energy poverty on the ground today, alongside investment in stronger transmission and distribution networks, battery storage and policies that enable affordable, locally-owned clean energy."

Recheal Tugume, a community leader from Hoima, Uganda, focused on operational accountability: "For communities that have spent years resisting EACOP, this delay matters. But we're not celebrating a missed deadline and walking away. As this project nears commissioning and operation, accountability becomes key. The question is no longer simply whether the pipeline can be built, but whether the entire system can be operated safely, whether environmental and social commitments to affected communities will be honored, and who will be held responsible when they're not."

What to watch

• Mid-December 2026 target for first pipeline readiness and crude receipt
• Pre-commissioning sequencing at the Lake Albert CPFs
• Outstanding land-compensation claims along the Uganda–Tanzania corridor
• Any movement on remaining project financing tranches