The South China Morning Post published on 15 March 2025 an article titled "As Chinese Gas Investments in Africa Take Off, Oil Imports Sink" by Jevans Nyabiage.
China is importing less and less oil from Africa, now about 10 percent of its global oil imports, but is ramping up its investment in African LNG.
Radio Free Asia published on 17 December 2024 an article titled "CNOOC East Africa Oil Exploitation: Forced Evictions, Sexual Violence and Human Rights Abuses" (in Chinese) by Tang Yuanyuan.
China National Offshore Oil Corporation and TotalEnergies are engaged in a major oil development project in Uganda that has been accused of numerous human rights abuses.
The East African published on 15 January 2024 an article titled "EACOP Partners Race against Time to Close $3bn Financing Deal with China Lenders" by Julius Barigaba.
Developers of the oil pipeline that will transport crude from western Uganda to Tanzania's port of Tanga remain hopeful but concerned about the willingness of China's Sinosure and Export-Import Bank to provide $3 billion in debt financing. Environmental activists have opposed the project, which would be the world's longest heated pipeline in order to permit the flow Uganda's low sulphur crude. Western banks earlier dropped out of the project as a result of opposition by the activists.
French major TotalEnergies is the lead investor in the pipeline project with a 62 percent stake, the Ugandan government and Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation each with a 15 percent stake, and China National Offshore Oil Corporation with an 8 percent stake.
The South China Morning Post published on 22 November 2023 an article titled "China Targeted by Climate Campaigners over Controversial East Africa Oil Pipeline Project" by Jevans Nyabiage.
Environmental activists in Uganda, Tanzania, DRC and elsewhere are pressuring Chinese financers to back out of an oil pipeline project that runs from Ugandan oilfields to Port Tanga on Tanzania's Indian Ocean coast. The activists say the pipeline threatens pristine ecosystems, biodiversity hotspots, water resources, and community land.
S&P Global Commodity Insights posted on 12 October 2023 a commentary titled "China Replaces African Loans with Energy Investments Amid Faltering Economy."
As China's huge loans for African governments come to an end, its foreign direct investment in oil, gas, and minerals is on the increase.
The South China Morning Post published on 21 May 2023 an article titled "China Doubles Down on Controversial African Pipeline as Western Leaders Walk Away" by Jevans Nyabiage.
Strong opposition by environmental and human rights groups have minimized Western lending for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline from Uganda's Lake Albert oilfields to the port of Tanga in Tanzania. China's Export-Import Bank and several other Chinese banks have agreed to finance the controversial project.
The New York Times published on 14 March 2023 a feature article titled "An Oil Rush Threatens National Splendors Across East Africa" by Abdi Latif Dahir with numerous photographs by Arlette Bashizi.
A multibillion-dollar oil drilling and pipeline project is displacing thousands of people in Uganda and Tanzania, and ravaging wildlife habitat. The oil drilling, which is already underway, occurs along Lake Albert in Uganda. The pipeline will go south from Lake Albert through Uganda and then continue the length of Tanzania through game parks to the Indian Ocean port of Tanga. France's TotalEnergies and China National Offshore Oil Corporation are managing the project.
The Associated Press published on 24 January 2023 an article titled "Uganda Begins Oil Drilling, Hopes for Production by 2025."
The China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has begun drilling in a Chinese-operated field near Lake Albert in Uganda. The goal is to start production by 2025.
The Africa Institute for Energy Governance and Inclusive Development International published in June 2022 a report titled "Assessment of East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) and Associated Facilities' Compliance with Equator Principles and IFC Performance Standards."
The Tilenga and Kingfisher oil fields are located onshore on the eastern perimeter of the Lake Albert basin, which lies on the border of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Most of the oil lifted from these fields would be transported via the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) for export through Tanzania's port of Tanga. A French-led consortium, TotalEnergies, operates the Tilenga oil field while the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) operates the Kingfisher field. TotalEnergies owns 62 percent of EACOP and CNOOC owns 8 percent. The Ugandan and Tanzanian national oil companies own the remaining 30 percent.
The report concludes that the EACOP project and its associated oil fields fail to comply with the Equator Principles and IFC Performance Standards in a variety of ways. These include major shortcomings in the project's consultation processes, impact assessments and risk management plans, severe and unmitigated risks associated with the improper handling of hazardous waste and oil spills contaminating critical water supplies, the continuing threats and unlawful retaliation against human rights defenders, environmentalists and community leaders that express concern with or disapproval of the project. The report argues the projects will also result in extensive and irreversible damage within Murchison Falls National Park and numerous other protected areas.
The New York Times published on 8 April 2022 a commentary titled "This 900-Mile Crude Oil Pipeline Is a Bad Deal for My Country--and the World" by Vanessa Nakate, Ugandan climate justice activist.
The author offers the environmental arguments against the 900-mile East African Crude Oil Pipeline to be built by French and Chinese companies from Kabaale, Uganda to Tanga, Tanzania on the Indian Ocean coast. Instead, the author argues that East Africans should focus on renewable energy.
Upstream posted on 9 June 2021 an article titled "US-Sino Pairing Scoops $2bn Contract to Build Major Oil Facilities in Uganda" by Iain Esau.
A consortium of US-based McDermott International and China's Sinopec International Petroleum Service Corporation have secured a conditional letter of award for a $1.9 billion contract to build the upstream facilities for TotalEnergies oil facilities on the shores of Lake Albert in Uganda.
In the current Sino-American political environment, this is a rare and significant case of business cooperation in Africa by American and Chinese companies.
Israel Defense posted on 10 November 2020 an article titled "The African Oil Markets of the People's Republic of China and the Continuous Daily Needs for Crude Oil" by Giancarlo Elia Valori.
In 2019, Africa supplied only 18 percent of China's imported crude oil, a sharp drop from ten years ago. Angola supplied half of the African total, Congo Brazzaville 2 percent, Libya 2 percent, and the rest of Africa 5 percent. The Middle East supplied 44 percent of China's imported crude.
While Africa remains an important source of China's imported crude, it is steadily dropping in significance compared to the Middle East, Russia, and even Western Hemisphere.
