TotalEnergies has hired an economist and former prime minister of Benin to conduct a review of its land acquisition programme in Uganda and Tanzania for the Tilenga and oil pipeline projects.
The French oil major has engaged Lionel Zinsou to examine the processes behind land acquisition for the projects, and the socio-economic development initiatives related to the programme undertaken by the company and its partners, according to a filing with the London Stock Exchange on Thursday.
Mr Zinsou is the managing partner of SouthBridge Group, a pan-African advisory and investment company he co-founded. He has previously served as the chief executive and chairman of PAI Partners, a French private equity firm. He also held positions at Rothschild & Co, a Paris-based merchant bank, where he was the head of global consumer goods and head of Africa and the Middle East. He was prime minister of Benin from 2015 to 2016.
His review will assess land acquisition procedures, consultation conditions, compensation and resettlement of affected people, and grievance redress mechanisms.
It will also assess the efforts made by TotalEnergies EP Uganda and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) to improve the livelihoods of those affected by the land acquisition, and suggest any additional measures needed.
“The [review] mission will submit its report by April 2024, and its conclusions will be shared with the Tilenga and EACOP project partners,” the company said.
The company acquired about 6,400 hectares of land for the two projects on behalf of the governments of Uganda and Tanzania. TotalEnergies said the acquisitions affected 19,140 “households and communities” that own or use land, and resulted in the relocation of 775 primary residences.
“To date, 98 per cent of affected households have signed compensation agreements, 97 per cent have received their compensation and 98 per cent of relocated households have taken possession of their new homes,” TotalEnergies said.
TotalEnergies is the majority operator of the Tilenga upstream development project with a 56.67 per cent interest, alongside China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) with a 28.33 per cent interest and Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) with a 15 per cent interest.
It also holds a 62 per cent majority stake in the EACOP Company, which is constructing a pipeline from Uganda’s oil fields to Tanga on Tanzania’s Indian Ocean coast. UNOC and the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation each hold 15 per cent of EACOP shares, while Cnooc holds 8 per cent.
