- The insurance companies opted out of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline due to pressure from climate activists.
- Twenty-eight insurers, including SiriusPoint, Riverstone International, and Enstar Group, have publicly refused to participate in the project.
About 28 insurance companies have opted out of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project due to pressure from climate activists. The insurance companies also cited concerns about environmental and human rights risks as the reason for the exit. This withdrawal poses a significant setback and could further stall the progress of the pipeline project, which had been delayed by four years. In addition, this leaves the project’s financial viability in question, as experts say local insurers cannot cover more than 30 per cent of the required insurance.
Despite commencing above-ground installations in November 2023, the project’s target completion date of December 2025 now appears increasingly uncertain. Twenty-eight insurers, including SiriusPoint, Riverstone International, and Enstar Group, have publicly declared their refusal to participate in the project. This follows months of campaigning by environmental groups like Coal Action Network and Insure Our Future, who argue that Eacop poses dangers to local communities and vital ecosystems.
In a statement urging remaining insurers like AIG and Tokio Marine to follow suit, 350.org stated, “These decisions come after months of targeted efforts to hold insurance firms accountable for their involvement in dirty energy projects.” Experts, including the director of the Africa Institute for Energy Governance, Dickens Kamugisha, believe the Ugandan government may be forced to lower its standards and offer attractive terms to attract new insurers. The 1,443-kilometer pipeline, majority-owned by TotalEnergies and state oil companies, aims to transport oil from Uganda to Tanzania’s Indian Ocean coast.