TotalEnergies to assess land purchases for East Africa oil pipeline

French energy giant TotalEnergies on Thursday said it had launched a land acquisition assessment for controversial projects in Uganda and Tanzania slammed by environmentalists.

"This mission will evaluate the land acquisition procedures implemented, the conditions for consultation, compensation and relocation of the populations concerned, and the grievance handling mechanism," it said in a statement, adding that it would submit its report by April.

The company aims to build a heated pipeline from oil fields in Uganda to a port in Tanzania

Campaigners have been urging TotalEnergies and its partners — China National Offshore Oil Corporation and the governments of Uganda and Tanzania — to cancel the project citing irreversible ecological impact.

The company faces a separate lawsuit for failing to protect people and the environment from its$3.5 billion East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).

EACOP is a 1,500 kilometre (930 mile) pipeline that would deliver crude oil to the Tanzanian coast through several protected nature reserves.