Legal setback for Total and its giant pipeline project in Uganda and Tanzania

This is a first formal victory for French and Ugandan NGOs, which have been engaged for two years in a legal battle against Total’s oil activities in Uganda. The Court of Cassation rendered its decision on Wednesday, December 15: it declared the Nanterre judicial court competent to judge this first legal action in France based on French law relating to the “duty of vigilance” of multinationals.

In this legal procedure, launched in October 2019, these associations accuse Total of not taking into account the social and environmental impacts of two mega-oil projects: the drilling of around 400 oil wells near Lake Albert in Uganda and the construction of a 1,445 km pipeline crossing this country and neighboring Tanzania.

To attack Total, the NGOs thus relied on the 2017 law “on the duty of vigilance of parent companies and ordering companies”. This obliges any multinational to “prevent serious violations of human rights” and “the environment” among their subcontractors and foreign suppliers, through a “vigilance plan”.

“For two years, Total has been trying to ensure that the case is tried in the commercial court,” said to France 24 Juliette Renaud, campaign manager for the association for the defense of human rights and the environment, Friends of Earth France.

But the judgment of the Court of Cassation overturns the decision rendered a year ago by the Versailles court of appeal, which ruled in favor of the commercial court. An “important victory” welcomed in a statement the six NGOs, including Friends of the Earth France, Survie, NAPE / Friends of the Earth Uganda.

>> Read also: An oil pipeline project threatens local communities in East Africa

“In our case, it is not a commercial dispute. We are talking about human rights and environmental protection. So in our opinion, this case should be judged by the court,” says the campaign manager on the regulation of multinationals.

After this judgment of the Court of Cassation, the NGOs will be able to focus on the merits of the case, which takes place thousands of kilometers from France.

An oil pipeline that crosses Uganda and Tanzania

For several years now, environmental and human rights NGOs have sounded the alarm about the creation of a gigantic pipeline, the East African Crude Oil Pipe Line (EACOP), in which the French multinational is participating. TotalEnergies. More than 260 civil society organizations, including Friends of the Earth, have notably come together within the STOP EACOP collective to urge investors to refuse to finance this project, which has negative consequences for the environment and local populations.

For now, this historic project for Uganda and Tanzania is still in its infancy. In April, the governments of Uganda and Tanzania signed agreements with TotalEnergies and Chinese giant CNOOC that paved the way for the construction of the pipeline. This will allow oil to be transported to neighboring Tanzania. At 1,443 km long, it should cross Uganda and Tanzania to the port of Tanga, which overlooks the Indian Ocean.

And according to TotalEnergies, contacted by France 24, only “earthworks and soil preparation work have started” concerning the first part of this project, the Tilenga drilling, located in western Uganda. In this area, the Lake Albert region, there are significant oil resources, estimated at more than one billion barrels, according to TotalEnergies. The goal is to drill and operate around 400 oil wells during this huge project operated by TotalEnergies, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC).

>> See also: Six NGOs give notice to the Total group for an oil project in Uganda

Within the framework of the Tilenga and EACOP projects, the multinational TotalEnergies presents itself as a “responsible operator”, which acts in “transparency on societal and environmental issues”. On its website, the firm specifies, for example, that “the route of the pipeline has been designed to avoid areas of environmental interest as much as possible”, ensuring that “particular attention has been paid in particular to the crossing of waterways. ‘water”. TotalEnergies also writes “attaching the greatest importance to respect for human rights in the implementation of these projects”.

For Juliette Renaud, this communication campaign is akin to “greenwashing”. “There are risks of irreversible damage to the environment if the project continues,” adds the spokesperson. More than 400 wells must be drilled, including about 140 in the heart of Murchison Falls National Park, a protected natural area located on the shores of Lake Albert, one of the sources of the Nile. TotalEnergies ensures, for its part, that “the development [du projet de Tilenga] will be restricted to a perimeter representing less than 1% of the park area “.

Discrepancies around CO2 emissions

“The pipeline will cross a number of fragile ecosystems, the Lake Victoria basin and in Tanzania, other areas, including wetlands and protected ecosystems”, worries Juliette Renaud, who points to “a great threat on biodiversity and water resources in Uganda and Tanzania “. According to the calculations of the international NGO BankTrack specializing in activities financed by banks, “this oil is likely to cause CO2 emissions of more than 33 million tonnes each year, significantly more than the combined emissions of Uganda and Tanzania.”

An estimate refuted by TotalEnergies, which assesses the CO2 emissions produced by the entire project at “0.8 million tonnes of CO2” per year for the duration of the production plateau (when production is stable). Regardless of the figures invoked, “if we have to respect the Paris Agreement [qui a pour objectif de limiter la hausse des températures à 1,5 degré au-dessus des niveaux préindustriels], we cannot develop any new fossil energy extraction project, and even less a mega project of this size, “says Juliette Renaud.

Apart from these environmental risks, NGOs accuse TotalEnergies of minimizing the number of inhabitants expropriated because of this work. According to the STOP EACOP collective, “About 13,000 households in Uganda and Tanzania, or over 86,000 people, have lost or will lose land due to EACOP. Another 4,865 households (representing 31,716 people according to figures provided by Total) are affected by the Tilenga project. In short, the two projects should have a direct impact on the land of around 118,000 individuals “, one can read in a document dated April 12, 2021.

To set up these oil infrastructures, TotalEnergies confirms that it has put in place a “land acquisition program” but ensures that it compensates for these land losses. According to responses from Total, sent by email to France 24, “it is offered to every home or land owner [se trouvant dans la zone] to choose between monetary compensation or compensation in kind with the provision of a new house or purchase of land of equivalent surface area financed by the project, “the firm told France 24.

“To date, 80% of compensation agreements have been signed and [sur 5 523 PAPs, personnes touchées par le projet] around 950 PAPs received monetary compensation. 80% of payments are expected to be made before the end of 2021, with the remainder in the first quarter of 2022, “Total added on its website, November 26.

“Total despair” of the expropriated people

Based on testimonies from residents, Juliette Renaud affirms that among the expropriated people, “a large number of them suffer from hunger, can no longer generate sufficient income because they depend on agriculture for their livelihood. food, no longer have enough money to put their children to school or meet their health needs in particular “. According to her, “these people are in a situation of total despair”.

The inhabitants who would dare to refuse to cede their land or their houses are not left out. On Saturday 23 October, two French NGOs castigated a desire by the Ugandan authorities to silence the voices opposing the oil project of the French group TotalEnergies in the country. Six Ugandan conservationists had been arrested the day before. “Opponents who dare to defend their rights and denounce the project are intimidated. In addition, a large number of testimonies report signatures of land cession forms which took place following intimidation. There were also a series of persecution, intimidation and arbitrary arrests of members of our partner associations and community leaders, ”explains Juliette Renaud.

These words find an echo with the sanctions published Friday by the United States against officials and entities of eight countries “for their involvement in gross violations of human rights.” Those responsible came mainly from China, Belarus and… Uganda.