Deutsche Bank rejects EACOP pipeline project
The oil for the planned pipeline is to be extracted in Uganda's Murchison Falls National Park (© Rod Waddington / flickr.com - CC BY-SA 2.0)
May 19, 2022
The planned EACOP oil pipeline in Africa is running out of potential financiers: According to an insider, Deutsche Bank has decided not to participate in the project in Uganda and Tanzania. The pipeline poses major environmental risks, is detrimental to the local population and runs counter to the fight against the climate crisis.
Reuters reported on the bank's position in the run-up to its annual general meeting, citing an insider. With its stance, Deutsche Bank is certainly not a leader in rejecting harmful projects: Numerous banks and insurance companies had previously ruled out financing or securing the $3.5 billion East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).
According to the insider, Deutsche Bank has not been involved in the project so far, and the bank itself would not comment on the record to Reuters.
The driving forces behind the pipeline are the French fossil fuel group TotalEnergies and the Chinese CNOOC. Activists fear that TotalEnergies could promote the project as Europe is looking for alternatives to oil from Russia against the backdrop of the Ukraine war.
The 1,445-kilometer EACOP would require heating along its entire route due to the high viscosity of the oil.
Rainforest Rescue is campaigning against the pipeline as a member of the StopEACOP alliance and has published a petition against the exploitation of oil in Murchison Falls National Park. Please sign the petition here.
