Uganda: TotalEnergies Tilenga Petroleum Project Commences
Uganda – TotalEnergies Tilenga Petroleum Project

The President of Uganda, H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. Image from Twitter/@etty_hard
France’s TotalEnergies has begun commercial drilling at its Tilenga petroleum project in Uganda’s west, with oil production expected to start in 2025. The project, however, has faced strong opposition from environmental protection groups and green energy campaigners, who consider it a disaster for the planet.
The Tilenga project is partly located in the Murchison Falls National Park, a biodiverse area known for its rich wildlife and scenic beauty. TotalEnergies and its partner, China’s CNOOC, plan to drill a total of 420 wells at Tilenga, with production set to peak at 190,000 barrels per day.
Environmentalists argue that the drilling and the associated crude oil pipeline would harm efforts to reduce fossil fuel reliance and devastate the park’s ecosystem. TotalEnergies claims it is committed to protecting the park’s biodiversity and that development will be limited to less than 1% of the park’s land.